{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_73021/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_73021","id":"gutenberg_73021","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73021","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Germanic peoples -- Folklore","Legends -- Germany","Legends -- Scandinavia","Mythology, Germanic","Mythology, Norse"],"text":"[Illustration: ODIN.]\n\n\n\n\n MYTHS OF NORTHERN LANDS\n\n\n NARRATED WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO\n LITERATURE AND ART\n\n\n BY\n\n H. A. GUERBER\n AUTHOR OF \u201cMYTHS OF GREECE AND ROME\u201d\n\n\n \u201c_Wake again, Teutonic Father ages,\n Speak again, beloved prim\u00e6val creeds;\n Flash ancestral spirit from your pages,\n Wake the greedy age to noble deeds._\u201d\n\n CHARLES KINGSLEY\n\n \u2766\n\n NEW YORK \u2058 CINCINNATI \u2058 CHICAGO\n AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY\n\n\n\n\n Copyright, 1895, by\n AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY.\n\n MYTHS OF NORTHERN LANDS.\n\n\n\n\n DEDICATED\n TO\n MY PARENTS.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nThe aim of this handbook of Northern mythology is to familiarize the\nEnglish student of letters with the religion of his heathen ancestors,\nand to set forth, as clearly as possible, the various myths which have\nexercised an influence over our customs, arts, and literature.\n\nAs Norwegians, Danes, Swedes, Icelanders, Germans, English, and French\nall came originally from the same stock and worshiped the same gods, so\nthese tales formed the basis not only of their religious belief, but\nalso of their first attempts at poetry. They are the classics of the\nNorth, and deserve as much attention at our hands as the more graceful\nand idyllic mythology of the South.\n\nThe most distinctive traits of the Northern mythology are a peculiar\ngrim humor which is found in the religion of no other race, and a dark\nthread of tragedy which runs throughout the whole woof. These two\ncharacteristics, touching both extremes of the scale, have colored\nNorthern thought, and have left their indelible imprint upon all our\nwritings even to this day.\n\nThe mythology of Greece and Rome, growing as spontaneous and luxuriant\nas the tropical vegetation, came to its full fruition and began to\ndecay before the introduction of Christianity. But Northern mythology,\nof slower growth, was arrested in mid-career before it had attained its\ncomplete development.\n\nA glossary, and complete index have been added to adapt this book for\ngeneral use in libraries and public schools. Author and publishers\nsincerely trust that this little work will be as kindly received and as\nwell appreciated as has been the case with its predecessor, \u201cMyths of\nGreece and Rome,\u201d the first volume of this series.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n CHAP. PAGE\n\n I. THE BEGINNING OF ALL THINGS 9\n\n II. ODIN 23\n\n III. FRIGGA 46\n\n IV. THOR 61\n\n V. TYR 84\n\n VI. BRAGI 93\n\n VII. IDUN 100\n\n VIII. NI\u00d6RD 107\n\n IX. FREY 112\n\n X. FREYA 124\n\n XI. ULLER 131\n\n XII. FORSETI 134\n\n XIII. HEIMDALL 137\n\n XIV. HERMOD 144\n\n XV. VIDAR 147\n\n XVI. VALI 150\n\n XVII. THE NORNS 154\n\n XVIII. THE VALKYRS 160\n\n XIX. HEL 166\n\n XX. \u00c6GIR 171\n\n XXI. BALDER 182\n\n XXII. LOKI 198\n\n XXIII. THE GIANTS 210\n\n XXIV. THE DWARFS 217\n\n XXV. THE ELVES 221\n\n XXVI. THE SIGURD SAGA 225\n\n XXVII. THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS 263\n\n XXVIII. GREEK AND NORTHERN MYTHOLOGIES--A COMPARISON 274\n\n INDEX TO POETICAL QUOTATIONS 293\n\n INDEX AND GLOSSARY 295\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.\n\n\n ODIN _Frontispiece_\n _Page_\n NORTH CAPE AND THE MIDNIGHT SUN 9\n\n VALHALLA--Hoffmann 25\n\n THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN--H. Kaulbach 32\n\n FRIGGA 48\n\n E\u00c1STRE, OR OSTARA 57\n\n THOR 69\n\n FREY 112\n\n FREYA 124\n\n THE WITCHES DANCE (VALPURGISNACHT)--Von Kreling 129\n\n VALKYRS RIDING TO BATTLE--P.\u00a0N. Arbo 160\n\n LORELEI AND THE FISHERMAN--Paul Thumann 180\n\n BALDER 188\n\n LOKI AND SIGYN--Carl Gebhardt 200\n\n NORWEGIAN WATERFALL 208\n\n TORGHATTEN, NORWAY 213\n\n DANCE OF THE WILL-O\u2019-THE-WISPS--W. Kray 221\n\n OLD HOUSES WITH CARVED DOORPOSTS, NORWAY 224\n\n THE BRANSTOCK--Hoffmann 229\n\n SIGURD AND THE DRAGON--K. Dielitz 245\n\n BRUNHILD\u2019S AWAKENING--Th. Pixis 249\n\n GUDRUN GIVING THE MAGIC DRINK TO SIGURD--Th. Pixis 252\n\n BRUNHILD--Th. Pixis 256\n\n H\u00d6GNI THROWING THE TREASURE INTO THE RHINE--Julius Schnorr 260\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: NORTH CAPE AND THE MIDNIGHT SUN.]\n\n\n\n\nMYTHS OF NORTHERN LANDS.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nTHE BEGINNING OF ALL THINGS.\n\n\nAlthough the Aryan inhabitants of northern Europe are supposed by some\nauthorities to have come originally from the plateau of Iran, in the\nheart of Asia, the climate and scenery of the countries where they\nfinally settled had great influence in shaping their early religious\nbeliefs, as well as in ordering their mode of living.\n\nThe grand and rugged landscapes of Northern Europe, the midnight sun,\nthe flashing rays of the aurora borealis, the ocean continually lashing\nitself into fury against the great cliffs and icebergs of the arctic\ncircle, could not but impress the people as vividly as the almost\nmiraculous vegetation, the perpetual light, and the blue seas and skies\nof their brief summer season. It is no great wonder, therefore, that\nthe Icelanders, for instance, to whom we owe the most perfect records\nof this belief, fancied in looking about them that the world was\noriginally created from a strange mixture of fire and ice.\n\nNorthern mythology is grand and tragical. Its principal theme is the\nperpetual struggle of the beneficent forces of Nature against the\ninjurious, and hence it is not graceful and idyllic in character like\nthe religion of the sunny South, where the people could bask in\nperpetual sunshine, and the fruits of the earth grew ready to their\nhand.\n\nIt was very natural that the dangers incurred in hunting and fishing\nunder these inclement skies, and the suffering entailed by the long\ncold winters when the sun never shines, made our ancestors contemplate\ncold and ice as malevolent spirits; and it was with equal reason that\nthey invoked with special fervor the beneficent influences of heat and\nlight.\n\n[Sidenote: Myths of creation.]\n\nWhen questioned concerning the creation of the world, the Northern\nscalds or poets, whose songs are preserved in the Eddas and Sagas,\ndeclared that in the beginning, when there was as yet no earth, nor\nsea, nor air, when darkness rested over all, there existed a powerful\nbeing called Allfather, whom they dimly conceived as uncreated as well\nas unseen, and that whatever he willed came to pass.\n\nIn the center of space there was, in the morning of time, a great abyss\ncalled Ginnunga-gap, the cleft of clefts, the yawning gulf, whose\ndepths no eye could fathom, as it was enveloped in perpetual twilight.\nNorth of this abode was a space or world known as Nifl-heim, the home\nof mist and darkness, in the center of which bubbled the exhaustless\nspring Hvergelmir, the seething caldron, whose waters supplied twelve\ngreat streams known as the Elivagar. As the water of these streams\nflowed swiftly away from its source and encountered the cold blasts\nfrom the yawning gulf, it soon hardened into huge blocks of ice, which\nrolled downwards into the immeasurable depths of the great abyss with a\ncontinual roar like thunder.\n\nSouth of this dark chasm, and directly opposite Nifl-heim, the realm\nof mist, was another world called Muspells-heim, the home of elemental\nfire, where all was warmth and brightness, and whose frontiers were\ncontinually guarded by Surtr, the flame giant. This giant fiercely\nbrandished his flashing sword, and continually sent forth great showers\nof sparks, which fell with a hissing sound upon the ice blocks in the\nbottom of the abyss, and partly melted them by their heat.\n\n \u201cGreat Surtur, with his burning sword,\n Southward at Muspel\u2019s gate kept ward,\n And flashes of celestial flame,\n Life-giving, from the Fire-world came.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\n[Sidenote: Ymir and Audhumla.]\n\nAs the steam rose in clouds it again encountered the prevailing cold,\nand was changed into rime or hoar frost, which, layer by layer, filled\nup the great central space. Thus by the continual action of cold and\nheat, and also probably by the will of the uncreated and unseen,\na gigantic creature called Ymir or Orgelmir (seething clay), the\npersonification of the frozen ocean, came to life amid the ice blocks\nin the abyss, and as he was born of rime he was called a Hrim-thurs or\nice giant.\n\n \u201cIn early times,\n When Ymir lived,\n Was sand, nor sea,\n Nor cooling wave;\n No earth was found,\n Nor heaven above;\n One chaos all,\n And nowhere grass.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Henderson\u2019s tr.).\n\nGroping about in the gloom in search of something to eat, Ymir\nperceived a gigantic cow called Audhumla (the nourisher), which had\nbeen created by the same agency as himself, and out of the same\nmaterials. Hastening towards her, Ymir noticed with pleasure that\nfour great streams of milk flowed from her udder to supply him with\nnourishment.\n\nAll his wants were thus satisfied; but the cow, looking about her for\nfood, began to lick the salt off a neighboring ice block with her rough\ntongue. There she stood patiently licking that selfsame lump until the\nhair of a god appeared. After she had licked some time longer the whole\nhead emerged from its icy envelope, and by and by Buri (the producer)\nstepped forth entirely free.\n\nWhile the cow had been thus engaged, Ymir, the giant, had fallen\nasleep, and as he slept a son and daughter were born from the\nperspiration under his armpit, and his feet produced the six-headed\ngiant Thrudgelmir, who, shortly after his birth, brought forth in his\nturn the giant Bergelmir, from whom all the evil frost giants are\ndescended.\n\n \u201cUnder the armpit grew,\n \u2019Tis said of Hrim-thurs,\n A girl and boy together;\n Foot with foot begat,\n Of that wise J\u00f6tun,\n A six-headed son.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: Odin, Vili, and Ve.]\n\nWhen these giants became aware of the existence of the god Buri, and\nof his son B\u00f6rr (born), whom he had immediately produced, they began\nwaging war against them, for as the gods and giants represented the\nopposite forces of good and evil, there was no hope of their ever\ncoming to an agreement and living together in peace. This struggle\ncontinued evidently for ages, neither party gaining a decided\nadvantage, until B\u00f6rr married the giantess Bestla, daughter of Bolthorn\n(the thorn of evil), who bore him three powerful sons, Odin (spirit),\nVili (will), and Ve (holy). These three sons immediately joined their\nfather in his struggle against the inimical frost giants, and finally\nsucceeded in slaying their deadliest foe, the great Ymir. As he sank\ndown lifeless the blood gushed from his wounds in such floods that\nit produced a great deluge, in which all his race perished, with the\nexception of Bergelmir, who escaped in a boat and went with his wife to\nthe confines of the world.\n\n \u201cAnd all the race of Ymer thou didst drown,\n Save one, Bergelmer,--he on shipboard fled\n Thy deluge, and from him the giants sprang.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nHere he took up his abode, calling the place J\u00f6tun-heim (the home\nof the giants), and here he begat a new race of frost giants, who\ninherited his dislikes, continued the feud, and were always ready\nto sally forth from their desolate country and make a raid into the\nterritory of the gods.\n\nThe gods, who in Northern mythology are called \u00c6sir (pillars and\nsupporters of the world), having thus triumphed over all their foes,\nand being no longer engaged in perpetual warfare, now began to look\nabout them, wondering how they could improve the desolate aspect of\nthings and fashion a habitable world. After due consideration B\u00f6rr\u2019s\nsons rolled Ymir\u2019s great corpse into the yawning abyss, and began to\nmake the world out of its various component parts.\n\n[Sidenote: Creation of the earth.]\n\nOut of the giant\u2019s flesh they fashioned Midgard (middle garden), as\nthe earth was called, which was placed in the exact center of the vast\nspace, and hedged all round with Ymir\u2019s eyebrows which formed its\nbulwarks or ramparts. The solid portion of Midgard was surrounded by\nthe giant\u2019s blood or sweat, which now formed the ocean, while his bones\nmade the hills, his flat teeth the cliffs, and his curly hair the trees\nand all vegetation.\n\nWell pleased with the result of these their first efforts at creation,\nthe gods took the giant\u2019s unwieldy skull and poised it skillfully\nabove earth and sea as the vaulted heavens; then scattering his brains\nthroughout the expanse they fashioned from them the fleecy clouds.\n\n \u201cOf Ymir\u2019s flesh\n Was earth created,\n Of his blood the sea,\n Of his bones the hills,\n Of his hair trees and plants,\n Of his skull the heavens,\n And of his brows\n The gentle powers\n Formed Midgard for the sons of men;\n But of his brain\n The heavy clouds are\n All created.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nTo support the heavenly vault in place, the gods stationed the strong\ndwarfs, Nordri, Sudri, Austri, Westri, at its four corners, bidding\nthem uphold it on their shoulders, and from them the four points of the\ncompass received their present names of North, South, East, and West.\nTo light up the world thus created, the gods began to stud the heavenly\nvault with sparks secured from Muspells-heim, points of light which\nshone steadily through the gloom like brilliant stars. The most vivid\nof all these sparks, however, were reserved for the manufacture of the\nsun and moon, which were placed in beautiful golden chariots.\n\n \u201cAnd from the flaming world, where Muspel reigns,\n Thou sent\u2019st and fetched\u2019st fire, and madest lights:\n Sun, moon, and stars, which thou hast hung in Heaven,\n Dividing clear the paths of night and day.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nWhen all these preparations had been finished, and the steeds Arvakr\n(the early waker) and Alsvin (the rapid goer) were harnessed to the sun\nchariot, the gods, fearing lest the animals should suffer from their\nproximity to this ardent sphere, placed under their withers great skins\nfilled with air or with some iron refrigerant substance. They also\nfashioned the shield Svalin (the cooler), and placed it in front of\nthe car to shelter them from the sun\u2019s direct rays, which would else\nhave burned them and the earth to a crisp. The moon car was, moreover,\nprovided with a fleet steed called Alsvider (the all-swift); but as its\nrays were very mild indeed, no shield was required to protect him.\n\n[Sidenote: Mani and Sol.]\n\nThe chariots were all ready, the steeds harnessed and impatient to\nbegin their daily round, but there was no one to guide them along the\nright road. The gods, perceiving this, looked about them and soon\nbeheld Mani (the moon) and Sol (the sun), children of giant Mundilfari,\nwho was so inordinately proud of his beautiful offspring that he called\nthem by the names of the newly created orbs. He gave his daughter Sol\nin marriage to Glaur (glow), who was probably one of Surtr\u2019s sons. The\nbrother and sister were transferred to the sky, where, after receiving\nminute directions from the gods, they skillfully guided their fleet\nsteeds along their appointed paths.\n\n \u201cKnow that Mundilf\u00e6r is hight\n Father to the moon and sun;\n Age on age shall roll away,\n While they mark the months and days.\u201d\n\n H\u00c1VAM\u00c1L (W. Taylor\u2019s tr.).\n\nSeeing how satisfactory all these arrangements were, the gods now\nsummoned Nott (night), a daughter of one of the giants, Norvi, and\nintrusted to her care a dark chariot, drawn by a sable steed, Hrim-faxi\n(frost mane), from whose waving mane the dew and hoar frost dropped\ndown upon the earth.\n\n \u201cHrim-faxi is the sable steed,\n From the east who brings the night,\n Fraught with the showering joys of love:\n As he champs the foamy bit,\n Drops of dew are scattered round\n To adorn the vales of earth.\u201d\n\n VAFTHRUDNI\u2019S-MAL (W. Taylor\u2019s tr.).\n\nThe goddess of night had already thrice been married: by her first\nhusband, Naglfari, she had had a son named Aud; by her second, Annar, a\ndaughter J\u00f6rd (earth); and by her third, the god Dellinger (dawn), she\nnow had a son, radiant with beauty, who was called Dag (day).\n\nAs soon as the gods became aware of this beautiful being\u2019s existence\nthey provided a chariot for him also, drawn by the resplendent white\nsteed Skin-faxi (shining mane), from whose mane bright beams of light\nshone forth in every direction, illuminating all the world, and\nbringing light and gladness to all.\n\n \u201cForth from the east, up the ascent of Heaven,\n Day drove his courser with the shining mane.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\n[Sidenote: The wolves Sk\u00f6ll and Hati.]\n\nBut as evil always treads close upon the footsteps of good, hoping to\ndestroy it, the ancient inhabitants of the Northern regions imagined\nthat both Sun and Moon were incessantly pursued by the fierce wolves\nSk\u00f6ll (repulsion) and Hati (hatred), whose sole aim was to overtake\nand swallow the brilliant objects before them, so that the world might\nagain be enveloped in its primeval darkness.\n\n \u201cSk\u00f6ll the wolf is named\n That the fair-faced goddess\n To the ocean chases;\n Another Hati hight,\n He is Hrodvitnir\u2019s son;\n He the bright maid of heaven shall precede.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nAt times, they said, the wolves overtook and tried to swallow their\nprey, thus producing an eclipse of the radiant orbs. Then the terrified\npeople raised such a deafening clamor that the wolves, frightened by\nthe noise, hastily dropped them. Thus rescued, Sun and Moon resumed\ntheir course, fleeing more rapidly than before, the hungry monsters\nrushing along in their wake, anxious for the time when their efforts\nwould prevail and the end of the world would come. For the Northern\nnations all believed that as their gods had sprung from an alliance\nbetween the divine element (B\u00f6rr) and the mortal (Bestla), they were\nfinite, and doomed to perish with the world they had made.\n\n \u201cBut even in this early morn\n Faintly foreshadowed was the dawn\n Of that fierce struggle, deadly shock,\n Which yet should end in Ragnarok;\n When Good and Evil, Death and Life,\n Beginning now, end then their strife.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nMani was also accompanied by Hiuki, the waxing, and Bil, the waning\nmoon, two children whom he had snatched from earth where a cruel father\nforced them to carry water all night. Our ancestors fancied they saw\nthese children, the original \u201cJack and Jill,\u201d with their pail, darkly\noutlined upon the moon.\n\nThe gods not only appointed Sun, Moon, Day, and Night to count out the\nyear, but also called Evening, Midnight, Morning, Forenoon, Noon, and\nAfternoon to share their duties, making Summer and Winter the rulers\nof the seasons. Summer, a direct descendant of Svasud (the mild and\nlovely), inherited his gentle disposition, and was loved by all except\nWinter, his deadly enemy, the son of Vindsual, himself a son of the\ndisagreeable god Vasud, the personification of the icy wind.\n\n \u201cVindsual is the name of him\n Who begat the winter\u2019s god;\n Summer from Suasuthur sprang:\n Both shall walk the way of years,\n Till the twilight of the gods.\u201d\n\n VAFTHRUDNI\u2019S-MAL (W. Taylor\u2019s tr.).\n\nAs the cold winds continually swept down from the north, chilling all\nthe earth, these nations further imagined that at the extreme northern\nverge of the heavens sat the great giant Hr\u00e6-svelgr (the corpse\nswallower), all clad in eagle plumes, and that whenever he raised his\narms or wings the cold blasts darted forth and swept ruthlessly over\nthe face of the earth, blighting all things with their icy breath.\n\n \u201cHr\u00e6-svelger is the name of him\n Who sits beyond the end of heaven,\n And winnows wide his eagle-wings,\n Whence the sweeping blasts have birth.\u201d\n\n VAFTHRUDNI\u2019S-MAL (W. Taylor\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: Dwarfs and Elves.]\n\nWhile the gods were occupied in creating the earth and providing for\nits illumination, a whole host of maggot-like creatures had been\nbreeding in Ymir\u2019s flesh. Crawling in and out, they now attracted\ndivine attention. Summoning these uncouth beings into their presence,\nthe gods, after giving them forms and endowing them with superhuman\nintelligence, divided them into two large classes. Those which\nwere dark, treacherous, and cunning by nature were banished to\nSvart-alfa-heim, the home of the black dwarfs, situated underground,\nwhence they were never allowed to come forth as long as it was day,\nunder penalty of being turned into stone. They were called Dwarfs,\nTrolls, Gnomes, or Kobolds, and spent all their time and energy in\nexploring the secret recesses of the earth. They collected gold,\nsilver, and precious stones, which they stowed away in secret crevices,\nwhence they could withdraw them at will. As for the remainder of these\nsmall creatures, including all that were fair, good, and useful, the\ngods called them Fairies and Elves, and gave them a dwelling place in\nthe airy realm of Alf-heim (home of the light-elves), situated between\nheaven and earth, whence they could flit downwards whenever they\npleased, to attend to the plants and flowers, sport with the birds and\nbutterflies, or dance in the silvery moonlight on the green. Odin, who\nhad been the leading spirit in all these undertakings, now bade the\ngods, his descendants, follow him to the broad plain called Idawold,\nfar above the earth, on the other side of the great stream Ifing, whose\nwaters never froze.\n\n \u201cIfing\u2019s deep and murky wave\n Parts the ancient sons of earth\n From the dwelling of the Goths:\n Open flows the mighty flood,\n Nor shall ice arrest its course\n While the wheel of Ages rolls.\u201d\n\n VAFTHRUDNI\u2019S-MAL (W. Taylor\u2019s tr.).\n\nIn the very center of the sacred space, which from the beginning of the\nworld had been reserved for their own abode and called Asgard (home of\nthe gods), the twelve \u00c6sir (gods) and twenty-four Asynjur (goddesses)\nall assembled. They decreed that no blood should ever be shed within\nthe limits of their realm, or peace stead, but that harmony must reign\nthere forever. Then after due consultation they established a forge\nwhere they fashioned all their weapons and the tools required to build\nmagnificent palaces of precious metals, in which they lived for many\nlong years in a state of such perfect happiness that this period has\nbeen called the Golden Age.\n\n[Sidenote: Creation of man.]\n\nAlthough the gods had from the beginning designed Midgard, or\nMana-heim, as the abode of man, there were at first no human beings to\ninhabit it. One day Odin, Vili, and Ve, according to some authorities,\nor Odin, Hoenir (the bright one), and Lodur, or Loki (fire), started\nout together and walked along the seashore, where they found either\ntwo trees, the ash, Ask, and the elm, Embla, or two blocks of wood,\nhewn into rude semblances of the human form. The gods gazed at first\nupon the inanimate wood in silent wonder, then perceiving the use it\ncould be put to, Odin gave these logs souls, Hoenir bestowed motion and\nsenses, and Lodur contributed blood and blooming complexions.\n\n \u201cThere were twain and they went upon earth, and were speechless,\n unmighty, and wan;\n They were hopeless, deathless, lifeless, and the Mighty named them\n Man.\n Then they gave them speech and power, and they gave them color and\n breath;\n And deeds and the hope they gave them, and they gave them Life and\n Death.\u201d\n\n SIGURD THE VOLSUNG (William Morris).\n\nThis newly created man and woman were then left to rule Midgard at\nwill. They gradually peopled it with their descendants, while the gods,\nremembering they had called them into life, took a special interest in\nall they did, watched over them, and often vouchsafed their aid and\nprotection.\n\n[Sidenote: The Yggdrasil tree.]\n\nAllfather in the mean while had not been idle, but had created a huge\nash called Yggdrasil, the tree of the universe, of time, or of life,\nwhich filled all the world, taking root not only in the remotest depths\nof Nifl-heim, where bubbled the spring Hvergelmir, but also in Midgard,\nnear Mimir\u2019s well (the ocean), and in Asgard, near the Urdar fountain.\n\nThese three great roots permitted the tree to attain such a marvelous\nheight that its topmost bough, called Lerad (the peace giver),\novershadowed Odin\u2019s hall, while the other wide-spreading branches\ntowered over all the other worlds. An eagle was perched on the bough\nLerad, and between his eyes sat the falcon Vedfolnir, sending his\npiercing glances down into heaven, earth, and Nifl-heim, and reporting\nall he saw.\n\nAs the tree Yggdrasil was ever green, and its leaves never withered,\nit served as pasturing ground not only for Odin\u2019s goat Heidrun, which\nsupplied the heavenly mead, the drink of the gods, but also for the\nstags Dain, Dvalin, Duneyr, and Durathor, from whose horns the honeydew\ndropped down upon the earth and furnished the water for all the rivers\nin the world.\n\nIn the seething caldron Hvergelmir, close by the great tree, was a\nhorrible dragon called Nidhug, which continually gnawed the roots, and\nwas helped in his work of destruction by countless worms, whose aim it\nwas to kill the tree, knowing that its death would be the signal for\nthe downfall of the gods.\n\n \u201cThrough all our life a tempter prowls malignant,\n The cruel Nidhug from the world below.\n He hates that asa-light whose rays benignant\n On th\u2019 hero\u2019s brow and glitt\u2019ring sword bright glow.\u201d\n\n VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nScampering continually up and down the branches and trunk of the tree\nwas the squirrel Ratatosk (branch borer), the typical busybody and tale\nbearer, which passed up and down, reporting the eagle\u2019s remarks to the\ndragon, and _vice versa_, in the hope of stirring up strife between\nthem.\n\n[Sidenote: Bifr\u00f6st.]\n\nTo maintain the tree Yggdrasil in a perfectly healthy condition, the\nNorns or Fates daily sprinkled it with the holy waters from the Urdar\nfountain, and as this water trickled down to earth it supplied the bees\nwith honey. From either edge of Nifl-heim, arching high above Midgard,\nrose the gods\u2019 bridge, Bifr\u00f6st (Asabru, the rainbow), built of fire,\nwater, and air, whose quivering and changing hues it retained, and\nover which none but the gods were privileged to travel to and fro, on\ntheir journey to the earth or to the Urdar well, at the foot of the ash\nYggdrasil, where they daily assembled in council.\n\n \u201cThe gods arose\n And took their horses, and set forth to ride\n O\u2019er the bridge Bifr\u00f6st, where is Heimdall\u2019s watch,\n To the ash Igdrasil, and Ida\u2019s plain.\n Thor came on foot, the rest on horseback rode.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nOf all the gods only Thor, the god of thunder, never passed over\nthe bridge, for they feared that his heavy tread or the heat of his\nlightnings would destroy it. The gods\u2019 watchman, Heimdall, kept guard\nthere night and day. He was armed with a very trenchant sword, and\ncarried a trumpet called Giallar-horn, upon which he generally blew a\nsoft note to announce the coming or going of the gods, but upon which\nhe would blow a terrible blast when Ragnarok should come, and the frost\ngiants and Surtr threatened to destroy the world.\n\n \u201cSurt from the south comes\n With flickering flame;\n Shines from his sword\n The Val-god\u2019s sun.\n The stony hills are dashed together,\n The giantesses totter;\n Men tread the path of Hel,\n And heaven is cloven.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: The Vanas.]\n\nNow although the original inhabitants of heaven were the \u00c6sir, they\nwere not the sole divinities of the Northern races, who also recognized\nthe power of the sea and wind gods, the Vanas, dwelling in Vana-heim\nand ruling their realms as they pleased. In early times, before the\ngolden palaces in Asgard were built, a dispute arose between the \u00c6sir\nand Vanas, and they soon resorted to arms to settle it, using rocks,\nmountains, and icebergs as missiles. But discovering ere long that in\nunity alone lay their strength, they agreed to let the quarrel drop and\nmake peace, and to ratify the treaty they exchanged hostages.\n\nIt was thus that the Van, Ni\u00f6rd, came to dwell in Asgard with his two\nchildren, Frey and Freya, while the Asa, Hoenir, Odin\u2019s own brother,\ntook up his abode in Vana-heim forever.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nODIN.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Odin\u2019s personal appearance.]\n\nOdin, Wuotan, or Woden was the highest and holiest god of the\nNorthern races. He was the all-pervading spirit of the universe, the\npersonification of the air, the god of universal wisdom and victory,\nand the leader and protector of princes and heroes. As all the gods\nwere supposed to be descended from him, he was surnamed Allfather, and\nas eldest and chief among them he occupied Asgard, the highest seat.\nKnown by the name of Hlidskialf, this chair was not only an exalted\nthrone, but also a mighty watch tower, from whence he could overlook\nthe whole world and see at a glance all that was happening among gods,\ngiants, elves, dwarfs, and men.\n\n \u201cFrom the hall of Heaven he rode away\n To Lidskialf, and sate upon his throne,\n The mount, from whence his eye surveys the world.\n And far from Heaven he turn\u2019d his shining orbs\n To look on Midgard, and the earth and men.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nNone but Odin and his wife and queen Frigga had the privilege of using\nthis seat, and when they occupied it they generally gazed towards\nthe south and west, the goal of all the hopes and excursions of the\nNorthern nations. Odin was generally represented as a tall, vigorous\nman, about fifty years of age, either with dark curling hair or with a\nlong gray beard and bald head. He was clad in a suit of gray, with a\nblue hood, and his muscular body was enveloped in a wide blue mantle\nall flecked with gray--an emblem of the sky with its fleecy clouds. In\nhis hand Odin generally carried the infallible spear Gungnir, which was\nso sacred that an oath sworn upon its point could never be broken, and\non his finger or arm he wore the marvelous ring Draupnir, the emblem of\nfruitfulness, precious beyond compare. When seated upon his throne or\narmed for the fray, in which he often took an active part, Odin wore\nhis eagle helmet; but when he wandered about the earth in human guise,\nto see what men were doing, he generally donned a broad-brimmed hat,\ndrawn down low over his forehead to conceal the fact of his having but\none eye.\n\n \u201cThen into the Volsungs\u2019 dwelling a mighty man there strode,\n One-eyed and seeming ancient, yet bright his visage glowed;\n Cloud-blue was the hood upon him, and his kirtle gleaming-gray\n As the latter morning sun dog when the storm is on the way:\n A bill he bore on his shoulder, whose mighty ashen beam\n Burnt bright with the flame of the sea and the blended silver\u2019s\n gleam.\u201d\n\n SIGURD THE VOLSUNG (William Morris).\n\nTwo ravens, Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory), perched upon his\nshoulders as he sat upon his throne, and these he sent out into the\nwide world every morning, anxiously watching for their return at\nnightfall, when they whispered into his ears news of all they had\nseen and heard, keeping him well informed about everything that was\nhappening on earth.\n\n \u201cHugin and Munin\n Fly each day\n Over the spacious earth.\n I fear for Hugin\n That he come not back,\n Yet more anxious am I for Munin.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\n[Illustration: VALHALLA--Hoffmann.]\n\nAt his feet crouched two wolves or hunting hounds, Geri and Freki,\nwhich animals were therefore considered sacred to him, and of good\nomen if met by the way. Odin always fed these wolves with his own\nhands from the meat set before him, for he required no food at all, and\nseldom tasted anything except the sacred mead.\n\n \u201cGeri and Freki\n The war-wont sates,\n The triumphant sire of hosts;\n But on wine only\n The famed in arms\n Odin, ever lives.\u201d\n\n LAY OF GRIMNIR (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nWhen seated in state upon his throne, Odin rested his feet upon a\nfootstool of gold, the work of the gods, whose furniture and utensils\nwere all fashioned either of that precious metal or of silver.\n\nBesides the magnificent hall Glads-heim, where stood the twelve seats\noccupied by the gods when they met in council, and Valaskialf, where\nhis throne, Hlidskialf, was placed, Odin had a third palace in Asgard,\nsituated in the midst of the marvelous grove Glasir, whose leaves were\nall of shimmering red gold.\n\n[Sidenote: Valhalla.]\n\nThis palace, called Valhalla (the hall of the chosen slain), had five\nhundred and forty doors, wide enough to allow the passage of eight\nhundred warriors abreast, and above the principal gate were a boar\u2019s\nhead and an eagle whose piercing glance looked all over the world.\nThe walls of this marvelous building were fashioned of glittering\nspears, so highly polished that they illuminated all the hall. The\nroof was of golden shields, and the benches were decorated with fine\narmor, the god\u2019s gifts to his guests. Here long tables afforded ample\naccommodations for the warriors fallen in battle, who were called\nEinheriar, and were considered Odin\u2019s favorite guests.\n\n \u201cEasily to be known is,\n By those who to Odin come,\n The mansion by its aspect.\n Its roof with spears is laid,\n Its hall with shields is decked,\n With corselets are its benches strewed.\u201d\n\n LAY OF GRIMNIR (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nThe ancient Northern nations, who deemed warfare the most honorable\nof occupations, and considered courage the greatest virtue, worshiped\nOdin principally as god of battle and victory, and believed that\nwhenever a fight was about to occur he sent out his special attendants,\nthe shield, battle, or wish maidens, called Valkyrs (choosers of the\nslain). They selected one half the dead warriors, and bore them on\ntheir fleet steeds over the quivering rainbow bridge Bifr\u00f6st, into his\nhall, where many honors awaited them. Welcomed by Odin\u2019s sons, Hermod\nand Bragi, the heroes were then conducted to the foot of Odin\u2019s throne,\nwhere they received the praises due their valor. When some special\nfavorite of the god was thus brought into Asgard, Valfather (father\nof the slain), as Odin was called when he presided over the warriors,\nsometimes rose from his throne to meet him at the door and himself bid\nhim welcome.\n\n[Sidenote: The feast of the heroes.]\n\nBesides the hope of the glory of such a distinction, and the promise\nof dwelling in Odin\u2019s beloved presence day after day, other more\nmaterial pleasures awaited the warriors in Valhalla. They were seated\naround the board, where the beautiful white-armed virgins, the Valkyrs,\nhaving laid aside their armor and clad themselves in pure white robes,\nconstantly waited upon them. These maidens, nine in number, according\nto some mythologists, brought the heroes great horns full of delicious\nmead, and set before them huge portions of boars\u2019 flesh, upon which\nthey feasted most heartily. The usual Northern drink was beer or ale,\nbut our ancestors fancied this beverage too coarse for the heavenly\nsphere. They therefore imagined that Valfather kept his table liberally\nsupplied with mead or hydromel, which was daily furnished in great\nabundance by his she-goat Heidrun, continually browsing on the tender\nleaves and twigs on Yggdrasil\u2019s topmost branch, Lerad.\n\n \u201cRash war and perilous battle, their delight;\n And immature, and red with glorious wounds,\n Unpeaceful death their choice: deriving thence\n A right to feast and drain immortal bowls,\n In Odin\u2019s hall; whose blazing roof resounds\n The genial uproar of those shades who fall\n In desperate fight, or by some brave attempt.\u201d\n\n LIBERTY (James Thomson).\n\nThe meat upon which the Einheriar feasted was the flesh of the divine\nboar S\u00e6hrimnir, a marvelous beast, daily slain by the cook Andhrimnir,\nand boiled in the great caldron Eldhrimnir; but although Odin\u2019s guests\nhad true Northern appetites and fairly gorged themselves, there was\nalways plenty of meat for all.\n\n \u201cAndhrimnir cooks\n In Eldhrimnir\n S\u00e6hrimnir;\n \u2019Tis the best of flesh;\n But few know\n What the einherjes eat.\u201d\n\n LAY OF GRIMNIR (Anderson\u2019s version).\n\nMoreover the supply was exhaustless, for the boar always came to life\nagain before the time for the next meal, when he was again slain and\ndevoured. This miraculous renewal of supplies in the larder was not the\nonly wonderful occurrence in Valhalla, for it is also related that the\nwarriors, after having eaten and drunk to satiety, always called for\ntheir weapons, armed themselves, and rode out into the great courtyard,\nwhere they fought against one another, repeating the feats of arms\nachieved while on earth, and recklessly dealing terrible wounds, which\nwere miraculously and completely healed as soon as the dinner horn\nsounded.\n\n \u201cAll the chosen guests of Odin\n Daily ply the trade of war;\n From the fields of festal fight\n Swift they ride in gleaming arms,\n And gaily, at the board of gods,\n Quaff the cup of sparkling ale\n And eat S\u00e6hrimni\u2019s vaunted flesh.\u201d\n\n VAFTHRUDNI\u2019S-MAL (W. Taylor\u2019s tr.).\n\nWhole and happy once more,--for they bore one another no grudge for\nthe cruel thrusts given and received, and lived in perfect amity\ntogether,--the Einheriar then rode gaily back to Valhalla to renew\ntheir feasts in Odin\u2019s beloved presence, while the white-armed Valkyrs,\nwith flying hair, glided gracefully about, constantly filling their\nhorns or their favorite drinking vessels, the skulls of their enemies,\nwhile the scalds sang of war and stirring Viking expeditions.\n\n \u201cAnd all day long they there are hack\u2019d and hewn\n \u2019Mid dust, and groans, and limbs lopp\u2019d off, and blood;\n But all at night return to Odin\u2019s hall\n Woundless and fresh; such lot is theirs in Heaven.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nThus fighting and feasting, the heroes were said to spend day after\nday in perfect bliss, while Odin delighted in their strength and\nnumber, which, however, he foresaw would not long avail to ward off his\ndownfall when the day of the last battle had dawned.\n\nAs such pleasures were the highest a Northern warrior\u2019s fancy could\npaint, it was very natural that all fighting men should love Odin, and\nearly in life should dedicate themselves to his service. They vowed to\ndie arms in hand, if possible, and even wounded themselves with their\nown spears when death drew near, if they had been unfortunate enough to\nescape death on the battlefield and were threatened with \u201cstraw death,\u201d\nas they called decease from old age or sickness.\n\n \u201cTo Odin then true-fast\n Carves he fair runics,--\n Death-runes cut deep on his arm and his breast.\u201d\n\n VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nIn reward for this devotion Odin watched with special care over his\nfavorites, giving them a magic sword, spear, or horse, and making them\ninvincible until their last hour had come, when he himself appeared to\nclaim or destroy the gift he had bestowed, and the Valkyrs bore them\noff to Valhalla.\n\n \u201cHe gave to Hermod\n A helm and corselet,\n And from him Sigmund\n A sword received.\u201d\n\n LAY OF HYNDLA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: Sleipnir.]\n\nWhenever Odin took an active part in war, he generally rode his\neight-footed gray steed, Sleipnir, brandished his white shield, and\nflung his glittering spear over the heads of the combatants, who only\nawaited this signal to fall upon one another, while the god dashed into\ntheir midst shouting his warcry: \u201cOdin has you all!\u201d\n\n \u201cAnd Odin donn\u2019d\n His dazzling corslet and his helm of gold,\n And led the way on Sleipnir.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nAt times he also used his magic bow, from which he shot ten arrows at\nonce, every one invariably bringing down a foe. Odin was also supposed\nto inspire his favorite warriors with the renowned \u201cBerserker rage\u201d\n(bare sark or shirt), which enabled them, although naked, weaponless,\nand sore beset, to perform unheard-of feats of valor and strength, and\ngo about as with charmed lives.\n\nAs Odin\u2019s characteristics, like the all-pervading elements, were\nmultitudinous, so were also his names, of which he had no less than\ntwo hundred, almost all of which were descriptive of some phase of his\nbeing. He was considered the ancient god of seamen and of the wind:\n\n \u201cMighty Odin,\n Norsemen hearts we bend to thee!\n Steer our barks, all-potent Woden,\n O\u2019er the surging Baltic Sea.\u201d\n\n VAIL.\n\n[Sidenote: The Wild Hunt.]\n\nOdin, as wind god, generally rode about on his eight-footed steed\nSleipnir, a habit which gave rise to the oldest Northern riddle,\nwhich runs as follows: \u201cWho are the two who ride to the Thing? Three\neyes have they together, ten feet, and one tail; and thus they travel\nthrough the lands.\u201d And as the souls of the dead were supposed to be\nwafted away on the wings of the storm, Odin was worshiped as the leader\nof all disembodied spirits. In this character he was most generally\nknown as the Wild Huntsman, and when people heard the rush and roar\nof the wind they cried aloud in superstitious fear, fancying they\nheard and saw him ride past with his train, all mounted on snorting\nsteeds, and accompanied by baying hounds. And the passing of the Wild\nHunt, known as Woden\u2019s Hunt, the Raging Host, Gabriel\u2019s Hounds, or\nAsgardreia, was also considered a presage of misfortune of some kind,\nsuch as pestilence or war.\n\n \u201cThe Rhine flows bright; but its waves ere long\n Must hear a voice of war,\n And a clash of spears our hills among,\n And a trumpet from afar;\n And the brave on a bloody turf must lie,\n For the Huntsman hath gone by!\u201d\n\n THE WILD HUNTSMAN (Mrs. Hemans).\n\nPeople further fancied that if any were so sacrilegious as to join\nin the wild halloo in mockery, they were immediately snatched up and\nwhirled away with the vanishing host, while those who joined in the\nhalloo with implicit good faith were rewarded for their credulity by\nthe sudden gift of a horse\u2019s leg, hurled at them from above, which, if\nthey carefully kept until the morrow, was changed into a solid lump of\ngold.\n\nEven after the introduction of Christianity the ignorant Northern\npeople still dreaded the on-coming storm, declaring that it was the\nWild Hunt sweeping across the sky.\n\n \u201cAnd ofttimes will start,\n For overhead are sweeping Gabriel\u2019s hounds,\n Doomed with their impious lord the flying hart\n To chase forever on a\u00ebreal grounds.\u201d\n\n SONNET (Wordsworth).\n\nSometimes it left behind it a small black dog, which, cowering and\nwhining upon a neighboring hearth, had to be kept for a whole year\nand carefully tended unless the people succeeded in exorcising it or\nfrightening it away. The usual recipe, the same as for the riddance\nof changelings, was to brew beer in egg-shells, which performance so\nstartled the spectral dog that he fled with his tail between his legs,\nexclaiming that, although as old as the Behmer, or Bohemian forest, he\nhad never yet seen such an uncanny sight.\n\n \u201cI am as old\n As the Behmer wold,\n And have in my life\n Such a brewing not seen.\u201d\n\n OLD SAYING (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nThe object of this phantom hunt varied greatly, and was either a\nvisionary boar or wild horse, white-breasted maidens who were caught\nand borne away bound only once in seven years, or the wood nymphs,\ncalled Moss Maidens, who were thought to represent the autumn leaves\ntorn from the trees and whirled away by the wintry gale.\n\nIn the middle ages, when the belief in the old heathen deities was\npartly forgotten, the leader of the Wild Hunt was no longer Odin,\nbut Charlemagne, Frederick Barbarossa, King Arthur, or some Sabbath\nbreaker, like the squire of Rodenstein or Hans von Hackelberg, who,\nin punishment for his sins, was condemned to hunt forever through the\nrealms of air.\n\nAs the winds blew fiercest in autumn and winter, Odin was supposed\nto hunt in preference during that season, especially during the time\nbetween Christmas and Twelfth-night, and the peasants were always\ncareful to leave the last sheaf or measure of grain out in the fields\nto serve as food for his horse.\n\nThis hunt was of course known by various names in the different\ncountries of northern Europe; but as the tales told about it are all\nalike, they evidently originated in the same old heathen belief, and to\nthis day ignorant people of the North still fancy that the baying of a\nhound on a stormy night is an infallible presage of death.\n\n \u201cStill, still shall last the dreadful chase,\n Till time itself shall have an end;\n By day, they scour earth\u2019s cavern\u2019d space,\n At midnight\u2019s witching hour, ascend.\n\n \u201cThis is the horn, and hound, and horse\n That oft the lated peasant hears;\n Appall\u2019d, he signs the frequent cross,\n When the wild din invades his ears.\n\n \u201cThe wakeful priest oft drops a tear\n For human pride, for human woe,\n When, at his midnight mass, he hears\n The infernal cry of \u2018Holla, ho!\u2019\u201d\n\n SIR WALTER SCOTT.\n\nThe Wild Hunt, or Raging Host of Germany, was called Herlathing in\nEngland, from the mythical king Herla, its supposed leader; in northern\nFrance it bore the name of Mesn\u00e9e d\u2019Hellequin, from Hel, goddess of\ndeath; and in the middle ages it was known as Cain\u2019s Hunt or Herod\u2019s\nHunt, these latter names being given because the leaders were supposed\nto be unable to find rest on account of the iniquitous murders of Abel,\nof John the Baptist and of the Holy Innocents.\n\nIn central France the Wild Huntsman, whom we have already seen in\nother countries as Odin, Charlemagne, Barbarossa, Rodenstein, von\nHackelberg, King Arthur, Hel, one of the Swedish kings, Gabriel, Cain,\nor Herod, is also called the Great Huntsman of Fontainebleau (_le Grand\nVeneur de Fontainebleau_), and people declare that on the eve of Henry\nIV.\u2019s murder, and also just before the outbreak of the great French\nRevolution, his shouts were distinctly heard as he swept across the sky.\n\n[Illustration: THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN.--H. Kaulbach.]\n\nIt was generally believed among the Northern nations that the soul\nescaped from the body in the shape of a mouse, which crept out of a\ncorpse\u2019s mouth and ran away, and it was also said to creep in and\nout of the mouths of people in a trance. While the soul was absent, no\neffort or remedy could recall the patient to life; but as soon as it\nhad come back animation returned.\n\n[Sidenote: The Pied Piper.]\n\nAs Odin was the leader of all disembodied spirits, he was identified in\nthe middle ages with the Pied Piper of Hamelin. According to medi\u00e6val\nlegends, Hamelin was so infested by rats (the souls of the dead) that\nlife became unbearable, and a large reward was offered to the person\nwho would rid the town of these rodents. A piper, in party-colored\ngarments, undertook the job, and piped so gaily that the rats were one\nand all beguiled out of their holes, along the street, and down to the\nriver Weser, where they were drowned.\n\n \u201cAnd ere three shrill notes the pipe uttered,\n You heard as if an army muttered;\n And the muttering grew to a grumbling;\n And the grumbling grew to a mighty rumbling;\n And out of the houses the rats came tumbling.\n Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats,\n Brown rats, black rats, gray rats, tawny rats,\n Grave old plodders, gay young friskers,\n Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins,\n Cocking tails and pricking whiskers,\n Families by tens and dozens,\n Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives--\n Followed the Piper for their lives.\n From street to street he piped advancing,\n And step for step they followed dancing,\n Until they came to the river Weser,\n Wherein all plunged and perished!\u201d\n\n ROBERT BROWNING.\n\nAs the rats were all dead, and there was no chance of their returning\nto plague them, the people of Hamelin refused to pay the promised\nreward, and braving the piper\u2019s anger bade him do his worst. A few\nmoments later the magic flute again began to play, and the astonished\nparents saw all their children gaily swarm out of the houses and\nmerrily follow the piper.\n\n \u201cThere was a rustling that seemed like a bustling\n Of merry crowds justling at pitching and hustling;\n Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes clattering,\n Little hands clapping and little tongues chattering,\n And, like fowls in a farmyard when barley is scattering,\n Out came all the children running.\n All the little boys and girls,\n With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls,\n And sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls,\n Tripping and skipping, ran merrily after\n The wonderful music with shouting and laughter.\u201d\n\n ROBERT BROWNING.\n\nWhile the parents stood there helpless and spellbound, the piper\nled the children out of the town to the Koppelberg, a hill, which\nmiraculously opened to receive them, and only closed again when the\nlast child had passed out of sight. The children were never seen\nin Hamelin again, and in commemoration of this public calamity all\nofficial decrees have since been dated so many years after the Pied\nPiper\u2019s visit.\n\n \u201cThey made a decree that lawyers never\n Should think their records dated duly\n If, after the day of the month and year,\n These words did not as well appear,\n \u2018And so long after what happened here\n On the Twenty-second of July,\n Thirteen hundred and seventy-six.\u2019\n And the better in memory to fix\n The place of the children\u2019s last retreat,\n They called it the Pied Piper street--\n Where any one playing on pipe or tabor\n Was sure for the future to lose his labor.\u201d\n\n ROBERT BROWNING.\n\nIn this myth Odin is the piper, the shrill tones of the flute are\nemblematic of the whistling wind, the rats represent the souls of the\ndead, which cheerfully follow him, and he even leads the children into\nthe hollow mountain, which is typical of the grave.\n\n[Sidenote: Bishop Hatto.]\n\nAnother German legend, which owes its existence to this belief, is the\nstory of Bishop Hatto, the miserly prelate, who, annoyed by the clamors\nof the poor during a time of famine, had them all burned alive in a\ndeserted barn, like the rats whom he declared they resembled, rather\nthan give them some of the precious grain which he had laid up for\nhimself.\n\n \u201c\u2018I\u2019 faith, \u2019tis an excellent bonfire!\u2019 quoth he,\n \u2018And the country is greatly obliged to me\n For ridding it in these times forlorn\n Of rats that only consume the corn.\u2019\u201d\n\n ROBERT SOUTHEY.\n\nNo sooner had this terrible crime been accomplished than the souls of\nthe poor murdered wretches, assuming the forms of the rats to which he\nhad likened them, came rushing towards the wicked bishop, whom they\npursued even into the middle of the Rhine, where he took refuge in a\nstone tower to escape from their fangs. But the rats swam to the tower,\ngnawed their way through the stone walls, and pouring in on all sides\nat once, they pounced upon the bishop and devoured him.\n\n \u201cAnd in at the windows, and in at the door,\n And through the walls, helter-skelter they pour,\n And down from the ceiling, and up through the floor,\n From the right and the left, from behind and before,\n From within and without, from above and below,\n And all at once to the Bishop they go.\n They have whetted their teeth against the stones;\n And now they pick the Bishop\u2019s bones;\n They gnaw\u2019d the flesh from every limb,\n For they were sent to do judgment on him!\u201d\n\n ROBERT SOUTHEY.\n\nThe red glow of the sunset above the Rat Tower near Bingen on the Rhine\nis supposed to be the reflection of the hell fire in which the wicked\nbishop is slowly roasting in punishment for this heinous crime.\n\n[Sidenote: Irmin.]\n\nIn some parts of Germany Odin was considered identical with the Saxon\ngod Irmin, whose statue, the Irminsul, near Paderborn, was destroyed\nby Charlemagne in 772. Irmin was said to possess a ponderous brazen\nchariot, in which he rode across the sky along the path which we know\nas the Milky Way, but which the ancient Germans designated as Irmin\u2019s\nWay. This chariot, whose rumbling sound occasionally became perceptible\nto mortal ears as thunder, never left the sky, where it can still be\nseen in the constellation of the Great Bear, which is also known in the\nNorth as Odin\u2019s, or Charles\u2019s Wain.\n\n \u201cThe Wain, who wheels on high\n His circling course, and on Orion waits;\n Sole star that never bathes in the Ocean wave.\u201d\n\n HOMER\u2019S ILIAD (Derby\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: Mimir\u2019s well.]\n\nTo obtain the great wisdom for which he is so famous, Odin, in the morn\nof time, wandered off to Mimir\u2019s (Memor, memory) spring, \u201cthe fountain\nof all wit and wisdom,\u201d in whose liquid depths even the future was\nclearly mirrored, and besought the old man who guarded it to let him\nhave a draught. But Mimir, who well knew the value of such a favor (for\nhis spring was considered the source or headwater of memory), refused\nto grant it unless Odin would consent to give one of his eyes in\nexchange.\n\nThe god did not hesitate, but immediately plucked out one of his eyes,\nwhich Mimir kept in pledge, sinking it deep down into his fountain,\nwhere it shone with mild luster, leaving Odin with but one eye, which\nis considered emblematic of the sun.\n\n \u201cThrough our whole lives we strive towards the sun;\n That burning forehead is the eye of Odin.\n His second eye, the moon, shines not so bright;\n It has he placed in pledge in Mimer\u2019s fountain,\n That he may fetch the healing waters thence,\n Each morning, for the strengthening of this eye.\u201d\n\n OEHLENSCHL\u00c4GER (Howitt\u2019s tr.).\n\nDrinking deeply of Mimir\u2019s fount, Odin gained the knowledge he coveted,\nand such was the benefit received that he never regretted the\nsacrifice he had made, but as further memorial of that day broke off a\nbranch of the sacred tree Yggdrasil, which overshadowed the spring, and\nfashioned from it his beloved spear Gungnir.\n\n \u201cA dauntless god\n Drew for drink to its gleam,\n Where he left in endless\n Payment the light of an eye.\n From the world-ash\n Ere Wotan went he broke a bough;\n For a spear the staff\n He split with strength from the stem.\u201d\n\n DUSK OF THE GODS, WAGNER (Forman\u2019s tr.).\n\nBut although Odin had won all knowledge, he was sad and oppressed, for\nhe had also won an insight into futurity, and had become aware of the\ntransitory nature of all things, and even of the fate of the gods, who\nwere doomed to pass away. This knowledge so affected his spirits that\nhe ever after wore a melancholy and contemplative expression.\n\nTo test the value of the wisdom he had thus obtained, Odin soon went to\nvisit the most learned of all the giants, Vafthrudnir, and entered with\nhim into a contest of wit, in which the stake was nothing less than the\nloser\u2019s head.\n\n \u201cOdin rose with speed, and went\n To contend in runic lore\n With the wise and crafty Jute.\n To Vafthrudni\u2019s royal hall\n Came the mighty king of spells.\u201d\n\n VAFTHRUDNI\u2019S-MAL (W. Taylor\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: Odin and Vafthrudnir.]\n\nOn this occasion Odin had disguised himself as a Wanderer, by Frigga\u2019s\nadvice, and when asked his name declared it was Gangrad. The contest\nof wit immediately began, Vafthrudnir questioning his guest concerning\nthe horses which carried Day and Night across the sky, the river Ifing\nseparating J\u00f6tun-heim from Asgard, and also about Vigrid, the field\nwhere the last battle was to be fought.\n\nAll these questions were minutely answered by Odin, who, when\nVafthrudnir had ended, began the interrogatory in his turn, and\nreceived equally explicit answers about the origin of heaven and earth,\nthe creation of the gods, their quarrel with the Vanas, the occupations\nof the heroes in Valhalla, the offices of the Norns, and the rulers\nwho were to replace the \u00c6sir when they had all perished with the world\nthey had created. But, when in conclusion, Odin bent near the giant and\nsoftly inquired what words Allfather whispered to his dead son Balder\nas he lay upon his funeral pyre, Vafthrudnir suddenly recognized his\ndivine visitor. Starting back in dismay he declared that no one but\nOdin himself could answer that question, and that it was now quite\nplain to him that he had madly striven in a contest of wisdom and wit\nwith the king of the gods, and fully deserved the penalty of failure,\nthe loss of his head.\n\n \u201cNot the man of mortal race\n Knows the words which thou hast spoken\n To thy son in days of yore.\n I hear the coming tread of death;\n He soon shall raze the runic lore,\n And knowledge of the rise of gods,\n From his ill-fated soul who strove\n With Odin\u2019s self the strife of wit,\n Wisest of the wise that breathe:\n Our stake was life, and thou hast won.\u201d\n\n VAFTHRUDNI\u2019S-MAL (W. Taylor\u2019s tr.).\n\nAs is the case with so many of the Northern myths, which are often\nfragmentary and obscure, this one ends here, and none of the scalds\ninform us whether Odin really slew his rival, nor what was the answer\nto his last question; but mythologists have hazarded the suggestion\nthat the word whispered by Odin in Balder\u2019s ear, to console him for his\nuntimely death, must have been the hopeful term \u201cresurrection.\u201d\n\n[Sidenote: Invention of runes.]\n\nBesides being god of wisdom, Odin was god and inventor of runes, the\nearliest alphabet used by Northern nations, which characters, meaning\nmystery, were at first used for divination, although in later times\nthey served for inscriptions and records. Just as wisdom could only be\nobtained at the cost of sacrifice, Odin himself relates that he hung\nnine days and nights from the sacred tree Yggdrasil, gazing down into\nthe immeasurable depths of Nifl-heim, plunged in deep thought, ere,\nafter wounding himself with his spear, he won the knowledge he sought.\n\n \u201cI know that I hung\n On a wind-rocked tree\n Nine whole nights,\n With a spear wounded,\n And to Odin offered\n Myself to myself;\n On that tree\n Of which no one knows\n From what root it springs.\u201d\n\n ODIN\u2019S RUNE-SONG (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nWhen he had fully mastered this knowledge, Odin cut magic runes upon\nhis spear Gungnir, upon the teeth of his horse Sleipnir, upon the claws\nof the bear, and upon countless other animate and inanimate things.\nAnd because he had thus hung over the abyss for such a long space of\ntime, he was ever after considered the patron divinity of all who were\ncondemned to be hanged or who perished by the noose.\n\nAfter obtaining the gift of wisdom and runes, which gave him power over\nall things, Odin also coveted the gift of eloquence and poetry, which\nbecame his in a manner which we shall relate in a subsequent chapter.\n\n[Sidenote: Geirrod and Agnar.]\n\nOdin, as has already been stated, took great interest in the affairs\nof mortals, and, we are told, was specially fond of watching King\nHrauding\u2019s handsome little sons, Geirrod and Agnar, when they were\nabout eight and ten years of age. One day these little lads went\nfishing, and when a storm suddenly arose their boat drifted far out\nto sea, and was finally stranded upon an island, where dwelt an old\ncouple, Odin and Frigga, in disguise. The lads were warmly welcomed and\nkindly treated, Odin choosing Geirrod as his favorite, and teaching him\nthe use of arms, while Frigga petted and made much of little Agnar. The\nboys tarried on the island with their kind protectors during the long,\ncold winter season; but when spring came, the skies were blue, and the\nsea calm, they embarked in a boat which Odin provided, and set out for\ntheir native shores. Favored by gentle breezes, they were soon wafted\nthither; but as the boat neared the shore Geirrod quickly sprang out\nand shoved it far into the water, bidding his brother sail away into\nthe evil spirit\u2019s power. At that selfsame moment the wind veered, and\nAgnar was carried away, while his brother hastened back to his father\u2019s\npalace, where he was joyfully received, and where, in due time, he\nsucceeded his father upon the throne.\n\nYears had passed since Odin and Frigga had spent that winter in human\nform on the desert island, when one day, while the royal couple were\nseated on the throne Hlidskialf, Odin bade his wife notice how powerful\nhis pupil had become, and taunted her because her favorite Agnar had\nmarried a giantess and had remained poor and of no importance in the\nworld. Frigga quietly replied that it was better to be poor than hard\nhearted, and accused Geirrod of lack of hospitality--one of the most\nheinous crimes in the eyes of a Northerner. She even went so far as to\ndeclare that in spite of all his wealth he often ill treated his guests.\n\nWhen Odin heard this accusation he declared that he would prove the\nfalsity of her charge by assuming the guise of a Wanderer and testing\nGeirrod\u2019s generosity. Wrapped in his cloud-hued raiment, with slouch\nhat and pilgrim staff,--\n\n \u201cWanderer calls me the world,\n Far have I carried my feet,\n On the back of the earth\n I have boundlessly been,\u201d--\n\n WAGNER (Forman\u2019s tr.).\n\nOdin immediately set out by a roundabout way, while Frigga, to outwit\nhim, sent Geirrod a secret warning to beware of a man in wide mantle\nand broad-brimmed hat, as he was a wicked enchanter who would work him\nill.\n\nAs soon, therefore, as Odin presented himself before the king\u2019s palace\nhe was dragged into Geirrod\u2019s presence, where, when he had given his\nname as Grimnir, and had refused to tell whence he came or what he\nwanted, he was bound between two fires, whose flames played around him\nwithout quite touching him. There he remained eight days and nights, in\nobstinate silence, without a morsel of food, and had it not been that\nAgnar, who had returned to his brother\u2019s palace and occupied a menial\nposition there, once secretly brought him a horn of ale, he would have\nhad nothing to drink.\n\nAt the end of the eighth day, while Geirrod, seated upon his throne,\nwas gloating over his prisoner\u2019s sufferings, Odin began to sing--softly\nat first, then louder and louder, until the hall re\u00ebchoed with his\ntriumphant notes--a prophecy that the king, who had so long enjoyed the\ngod\u2019s favor, would soon perish by his own sword.\n\n \u201cThe fallen by the sword\n Ygg shall now have;\n Thy life is now run out:\n Wroth with thee are the D\u00eesir:\n Odin thou now shalt see:\n Draw near to me if thou canst.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nAs the last notes died away the chains dropped from his hands, the\nflames flickered and went out, and Odin stood in the midst of the hall,\nno longer in human form, but in all the power and beauty of a god.\n\nOn hearing the ominous prophecy Geirrod hastily drew his sword,\nintending to slay the insolent singer; but when he beheld the sudden\ntransformation he started in dismay, tripped, fell upon the sharp\nblade, and perished as Odin had just foretold. Turning to Agnar, who,\naccording to some accounts, was the king\u2019s son and not his brother,\nOdin then bade him ascend the throne in reward for his humanity and,\nfurther to repay him for the timely draught of ale, the king of the\ngods blessed him with all manner of prosperity.\n\nOn another occasion Odin wandered off to earth, and was absent so\nlong that no one ever expected to see him in Asgard again. His\nbrothers Vili and Ve, who by some mythologists are considered as other\npersonifications of himself, then usurped his power, occupied his\nthrone, and even, we are told, married his wife Frigga.\n\n \u201cBe thou silent, Frigg!\n Thou art Fi\u00f6rgyn\u2019s daughter\n And ever hast been fond of men,\n Since Ve and Vili, it is said,\n Thou, Vidrir\u2019s wife, didst\n Both to thy bosom take.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: May-day festivals.]\n\nBut upon his return they vanished forever; and in commemoration of\nthe disappearance of the false Odin, who had ruled seven months and\nhad brought nothing but unhappiness to the world, and of the return\nof the benevolent deity, the heathen Northerners formerly celebrated\nyearly festivals and processions, which were long continued as May-day\nrejoicings. Until very lately there was always, on that day, a grand\nprocession in Sweden, known as the May Ride, in which a flower-decked\nMay king (Odin) pelted with blossoms the fur-enveloped Winter (his\nsupplanter), until he put him to ignominious flight. In England the\nfirst of May was also a festive occasion, in which May-pole dances, May\nqueens, Maid Marian, and Jack in the Green played prominent parts.\n\nAs personification of heaven, Odin, of course, was the lover and\nspouse of the earth, and as it appeared under a threefold aspect, the\nNortherners, although a chaste race, depicted him as a polygamist, and\nallotted to him several wives. The first among these was J\u00f6rd (Erda),\nthe primitive earth, daughter of Night or of the giantess Fiorgyn.\nShe bore him his famous son Thor, the god of thunder. The second and\nprincipal wife was Frigga, a personification of the civilized world.\nShe gave him Balder, the gentle god of spring, Hermod, and, according\nto some authorities, Tyr. The third wife was Rinda, a personification\nof the hard and frozen earth, who reluctantly yields to his warm\nembrace, but finally gives birth to Vali, the emblem of vegetation.\nOdin is also said to have married Saga or Laga, the goddess of history\n(hence our verb \u201cto say\u201d), and to have daily visited her in the crystal\nhall of Sokvabek, beneath a cool, ever-flowing river, to drink its\nwaters and listen to her songs about olden times and vanished races.\n\n \u201cSokvabek hight the fourth dwelling;\n Over it flow the cool billows;\n Glad drink there Odin and Saga\n Every day from golden cups.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nHis other wives were Grid, the mother of Vidar; Gunlod, the mother\nof Bragi; Skadi; and the nine giantesses who simultaneously bore\nHeimdall--all of whom play more or less important parts in the various\nmyths of the North.\n\n[Sidenote: Historical Odin.]\n\nBesides this ancient Odin, there was a more modern, semi-historical\npersonage of the same name, to whom all the virtues, powers, and\nadventures of his predecessor have been attributed. He was the chief\nof the \u00c6sir, inhabitants of Asia Minor, who, sore pressed by the\nRomans, and threatened with destruction or slavery, left their native\nland about 70 B.C., and migrated into Europe. This Odin is said to\nhave conquered Russia, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, leaving\na son on the throne of each conquered country. He also built the town\nof Odens\u00f6. He was welcomed in Sweden by Gylfi, the king, who made him\nassociate ruler, and allowed him to found the city of Sigtuna, where\nhe built a temple and introduced a new system of worship. Tradition\nfurther relates that as his end drew near, this mythical Odin assembled\nhis followers, publicly cut himself nine times in the breast with his\nspear,--a ceremony called \u201ccarving Geir odds,\u201d--and told them he was\nabout to return to his native land Asgard, his old home, where he would\nawait their coming, to share with him a life of feasting, drinking, and\nfighting.\n\nAccording to another account, Gylfi, having heard of the power of the\n\u00c6sir, the inhabitants of Asgard, and wishing to ascertain whether\nthese reports were true, journeyed off to the south. He soon came to\nOdin\u2019s palace, where he was expected, and where he was deluded by the\nvision of three divinities, enthroned one above the other, and called\nHar, Iafn-har, and Thridi. The gatekeeper, Gangler, answered all his\nquestions, gave him a long explanation of Northern mythology, which is\nrecorded in the Younger Edda, and having finished his instructions,\nsuddenly vanished with the palace amid a deafening noise.\n\nAccording to other very ancient poems, Odin\u2019s sons, Weldegg, Beldegg,\nSigi, Skiold, S\u00e6ming, and Yngvi, became kings of East Saxony, West\nSaxony, Franconia, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and from them are\ndescended the Saxons, Hengist and Horsa, and the royal families of the\nNorthern lands. Still another version relates that Odin and Frigga had\nseven sons, who founded the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy. In the course of\ntime this mysterious king was confounded with the Odin whose worship he\nintroduced, and all his deeds were attributed to the god.\n\nOdin was worshiped in numerous temples, but especially in the great\nfane at Upsala, where the most solemn festivals were held, and where\nsacrifices were offered. The victim was generally a horse, but in times\nof pressing need human offerings were made, even the king being once\noffered up to avert a famine.\n\n \u201cUpsal\u2019s temple, where the North\n Saw Valhal\u2019s halls fair imag\u2019d here on earth.\u201d\n\n VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nThe first toast at every festival here was drunk in his honor, and,\nbesides the first of May, one day in every week was held sacred to\nhim, and, from his Saxon name, Woden, was called Woden\u2019s day, whence\nthe English word \u201cWednesday\u201d has been derived. It was customary for\nthe people to assemble at his shrine on festive occasions, to hear the\nsongs of the scalds, who were rewarded for their minstrelsy by the gift\nof golden bracelets or armlets, which curled up at the ends and were\ncalled \u201cOdin\u2019s serpents.\u201d\n\nThere are but few remains of ancient Northern art now extant, and\nalthough rude statues of Odin were once quite common they have all\ndisappeared, as they were made of wood--a perishable substance, which\nin the hands of the missionaries and especially of Olaf the Saint, the\nNorthern iconoclast, was soon reduced to ashes.\n\n \u201cThere in the Temple, carved in wood,\n The image of great Odin stood.\u201d\n\n SAGA OF KING OLAF (Longfellow)\n\nOdin himself is supposed to have given his people a code of laws\nwhereby to govern their conduct, in a poem called H\u00e1vamal, or the\nHigh Song, which forms part of the Edda. In this lay he taught\nthe fallibility of man, the necessity for courage, temperance,\nindependence, and truthfulness, respect for old age, hospitality,\ncharity, and contentment, and gave instructions for the burial of the\ndead.\n\n \u201cAt home let a man be cheerful,\n And toward a guest liberal;\n Of wise conduct he should be,\n Of good memory and ready speech;\n If much knowledge he desires,\n He must often talk on what is good.\u201d\n\n H\u00c1VAM\u00c1L (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nFRIGGA.\n\n\n[Sidenote: The queen of the gods.]\n\nFrigga or Frigg, daughter of Fiorgyn and sister of J\u00f6rd, according to\nsome mythologists, is considered by others as a daughter of J\u00f6rd and\nOdin, whom she eventually married. This wedding caused such general\nrejoicing in Asgard, where the goddess was greatly beloved, that ever\nafter it was customary to celebrate its anniversary with feast and\nsong, and the goddess being declared patroness of marriage, her health\nwas always proposed with that of Odin and Thor at wedding feasts.\n\nFrigga was goddess of the atmosphere, or rather of the clouds, and as\nsuch was represented as wearing either snow-white or dark garments,\naccording to her somewhat variable moods. She was queen of the gods,\nand she alone had the privilege of sitting on the throne Hlidskialf,\nbeside her august husband. From thence she, too, could look over all\nthe world and see what was happening, and, according to our ancestors\u2019\ndeclarations, she possessed the knowledge of the future, which,\nhowever, no one could ever prevail upon her to reveal, thus proving\nthat Northern women could keep a secret inviolate.\n\n \u201cOf me the gods are sprung;\n And all that is to come I know, but lock\n In my own breast, and have to none reveal\u2019d.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nShe was generally represented as a tall, beautiful, and stately woman,\ncrowned with heron plumes, the symbol of silence or forgetfulness, and\nclothed in pure-white robes, secured at the waist by a golden girdle,\nfrom which hung a bunch of keys, the distinctive sign of the Northern\nhousewife, whose special patroness she was said to be. Although she\noften appeared beside her husband, Frigga preferred to remain in her\nown palace, called Fensalir, the hall of mists or of the sea, where\nshe diligently twirled her wheel or distaff, spinning golden thread or\nweaving long webs of bright-colored clouds.\n\nIn order to perform this work she owned a marvelous jeweled spinning\nwheel or distaff, which at night shone brightly in the sky in the shape\nof a constellation, known in the North as Frigga\u2019s Spinning Wheel,\nwhile the inhabitants of the South called the same stars Orion\u2019s Girdle.\n\n[Sidenote: The stolen gold.]\n\nTo her hall Fensalir the gracious goddess invited all husbands and\nwives who had led virtuous lives on earth, so that they might enjoy\neach other\u2019s companionship even after death, and never be called upon\nto part again.\n\n \u201cThere in the glen, Fensalir stands, the house\n Of Frea, honor\u2019d mother of the gods,\n And shows its lighted windows and the open doors.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nFrigga was therefore considered the goddess of conjugal and motherly\nlove, and was specially worshiped by married lovers and tender parents.\nThis exalted office did not so entirely absorb all her thoughts,\nhowever, that she had no time for other matters; for we are told that\nshe was very fond of dress, and whenever she appeared before the\nassembled gods her attire was rich and becoming, and her jewels always\nchosen with much taste. This love of adornment once led her sadly\nastray, for, in her longing to possess some new jewel, she secretly\npurloined a piece of gold from a statue representing her husband, which\nhad just been placed in his temple. The stolen metal was intrusted to\nthe dwarfs, with instructions to fashion a marvelous necklace for her\nuse. This jewel, once finished, was so resplendent that it greatly\nenhanced her charms and even increased Odin\u2019s love for her. But when\nhe discovered the theft of the gold he angrily summoned the dwarfs and\nbade them reveal who had dared to touch his statue. Unwilling to betray\nthe queen of the gods, the dwarfs remained obstinately silent, and,\nseeing that no information could be elicited from them, Odin commanded\nthat the statue should be placed above the temple gate, and set to\nwork to devise runes which should endow it with the power of speech\nand enable it to denounce the thief. When Frigga heard these tidings\nshe trembled with fear, and implored her favorite attendant, Fulla, to\ninvent some means of protecting her from Allfather\u2019s wrath. Fulla, who\nwas always ready to serve her mistress, immediately departed, and soon\nreturned, accompanied by a hideous dwarf, who promised to prevent the\nstatue from speaking if Frigga would only deign to smile graciously\nupon him. This boon having been granted, the dwarf hastened off to the\ntemple, caused a deep sleep to fall upon the guards, and while they\nwere thus unconscious, pulled the statue down from its perch and broke\nit to pieces, so that it could never betray Frigga\u2019s theft in spite of\nall Odin\u2019s efforts to give it the power of speech.\n\nOdin, discovering this sacrilege on the morrow, was very angry indeed;\nso angry that he left Asgard and utterly disappeared, carrying away\nwith him all the blessings which he had been wont to shower upon gods\nand men. According to some authorities, his brothers, as we have\nalready seen, took advantage of his absence to assume his form and\nsecure possession of his throne and wife; but although they looked\nexactly like him they could not restore the lost blessings, and allowed\nthe ice giants, or J\u00f6tuns, to invade the earth and bind it fast in\ntheir cold fetters. These wicked giants also pinched the leaves and\nbuds till they all shriveled up, stripped the trees bare, shrouded the\nearth in a great white coverlet, and veiled it in impenetrable mists.\n\n[Illustration: FRIGGA.]\n\nBut at the end of seven weary months the true Odin relented and\nreturned, and when he saw all the evil that had been done he drove\nthe usurpers away, forced the frost giants to beat a hasty retreat,\nreleased the earth from her icy bonds, and again showered all his\nblessings down upon her, cheering her with the light of his smile.\n\n[Sidenote: Odin outwitted.]\n\nAs has already been seen, Odin, although god of wit and wisdom, was\nsometimes outwitted by his wife Frigga, who, woman-like, was sure\nto obtain her will by some means. On one occasion the divine pair\nwere seated upon Hlidskialf, gazing with interest upon the Winilers\nand Vandals, who were preparing for a battle which was to decide\nwhich people should henceforth have the supremacy. Odin gazed with\nsatisfaction upon the Vandals, who were loudly praying to him for\nvictory; but Frigga watched the movements of the Winilers with more\nattention, because they had entreated her aid. She therefore turned to\nOdin and coaxingly inquired whom he meant to favor on the morrow; he,\nwishing to evade her question, declared he would not yet decide, as it\nwas time for bed, but would give the victory to those upon whom his\neyes first rested in the morning.\n\nThis answer was shrewdly calculated, for Odin knew that his bed was\nso turned that upon waking he would face the Vandals, and he intended\nlooking out from thence, instead of waiting until he had mounted his\nthrone. But, although so cunningly contrived, this plan was entirely\nfrustrated by Frigga, who, divining his purpose, waited until he was\nsound asleep and then noiselessly turned his bed around so that he\nshould face her favorites instead of his. Then she sent word to the\nWinilers to dress their women in armor and send them out in battle\narray at dawn, with their long hair carefully combed down over their\ncheeks and breasts.\n\n \u201cTake thou thy women-folk,\n Maidens and wives:\n Over your ankles\n Lace on the white war-hose;\n Over your bosoms\n Link up the hard mail-nets;\n Over your lips\n Plait long tresses with cunning;--\n So war beasts full-bearded\n King Odin shall deem you,\n When off the gray sea-beach\n At sunrise ye greet him.\u201d\n\n THE LONGBEARDS\u2019 SAGA (Charles Kingsley).\n\nThese instructions were carried out with scrupulous exactness by the\nWiniler women, and when Odin awoke and sat up in bed early the next\nmorning, his first conscious glance fell upon their armed host, and\nhe exclaimed in surprise, \u201cWhat Longbeards are those?\u201d (In German the\nancient word for long beards was Langobarden, which was the name used\nto designate the Lombards.) Frigga, upon hearing this exclamation,\nwhich she had foreseen, immediately cried out in triumph that Allfather\nhad given them a new name, and was in honor bound to follow the usual\nNorthern custom and give them also a baptismal gift.\n\n \u201c\u2018A name thou hast given them,\n Shames neither thee nor them,\n Well can they wear it.\n Give them the victory,\n First have they greeted thee;\n Give them the victory,\n Yoke-fellow mine!\u2019\u201d\n\n THE LONGBEARDS\u2019 SAGA (Charles Kingsley).\n\nOdin, seeing he had been so cleverly outwitted, gave them the victory,\nand in memory of this auspicious day the Winilers retained the name\ngiven by the king of the gods, who ever after watched over them with\nspecial care, and vouchsafed them many blessings, among others a home\nin the sunny South, on the fruitful plains of Lombardy.\n\n[Sidenote: Fulla.]\n\nFrigga had, as her own special attendants, a number of beautiful\nmaidens, among whom were Fulla (Volla), her sister, according to some\nauthorities, to whom she intrusted her jewel casket. Fulla always\npresided over her mistress\u2019s toilet, was privileged to put on her\ngolden shoes, attended her everywhere, was her confidante and adviser,\nand often told her how best to help the mortals who implored her aid.\nFulla was very beautiful indeed, and had long golden hair, which she\nwore flowing loose over her shoulders, restrained only by a golden\ncirclet or snood. As her hair was emblematic of the golden grain, this\ncirclet represented the binding of the sheaf. Fulla was also known\nas Abundia, or Abundantia, in some parts of Germany, where she was\nconsidered the symbol of the fullness of the earth.\n\nHlin, Frigga\u2019s second attendant, was the goddess of consolation, sent\nout to kiss away the tears of mourners and pour balm into hearts wrung\nby grief. She also listened with ever-open ears to the prayers of\nmortals, repeated them to her mistress, and advised her at times how\nbest to answer them and give the desired relief.\n\n[Sidenote: Gna.]\n\nGna was Frigga\u2019s swift messenger, who, mounted upon her fleet steed\nHofvarpnir (hoof thrower), traveled with marvelous rapidity through\nfire and air, over land and sea, and was therefore considered the\npersonification of the refreshing breeze. Darting thus to and fro,\nGna saw all that was happening upon earth, and told her mistress all\nshe knew. On one occasion, as she was passing over Hunaland, she saw\nKing Rerir, a lineal descendant of Odin, sitting mournfully by the\nshore, bewailing his childlessness. The queen of heaven, who was also\ngoddess of childbirth, upon hearing this took an apple (the emblem of\nfruitfulness) from her private store, gave it to Gna, and bade her\ncarry it to the king. With the rapidity of the element she personified,\nGna darted away, passed over Rerir\u2019s head, and dropped her apple into\nhis lap with a radiant smile.\n\n \u201c\u2018What flies up there, so quickly driving past?\u2019\n Her answer from the clouds, as rushing by:\n \u2018I fly not, nor do drive, but hurry fast,\n Hoof flinger swift through cloud and mist and sky.\u2019\u201d\n\n ASGARD AND THE GODS (W\u00e4gner-Macdowall).\n\nThe king, after pondering for a moment upon the meaning of this sudden\napparition and gift, returned home, his heart beating high with hope,\ngave the apple to his wife to eat, and to his intense joy was soon\nno longer childless, for his wife bore him a son, Volsung, the great\nNorthern hero, who became so famous that he gave his name to all his\nrace.\n\n[Sidenote: Lofn.]\n\nBesides the three above-mentioned attendants, Frigga also had in her\ntrain the mild and gracious maiden Lofn (praise or love), whose duty it\nwas to remove all obstacles from the path of lovers.\n\n \u201cMy lily tall, from her saddle bearing,\n I led then forth through the temple, faring\n To th\u2019 altar-circle where, priests among,\n Lofn\u2019s vows she took with unfalt\u2019ring tongue.\u201d\n\n VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nVjofn\u2019s duty was to incline obdurate hearts to love, to maintain peace\nand concord among mankind, and to reconcile quarreling husbands and\nwives. Syn (truth) guarded the door of Frigga\u2019s palace, refusing to\nopen it to those who were not allowed to come in. When she had once\nshut the door upon a would-be intruder there was no appeal which would\navail to change her decision. She therefore presided over all tribunals\nand trials, and whenever a thing was to be vetoed the usual formula was\nto declare that Syn was against it.\n\n[Sidenote: Gefjon.]\n\nGefjon was also one of the maidens in Frigga\u2019s palace, and to her were\nintrusted all those who died virgins, whom she received and made happy\nforever. According to some mythologists, Gefjon did not always remain\na virgin herself, but married one of the giants, by whom she had four\nsons. This same tradition goes on to declare that Odin sent her ahead\nof him to visit Gylfi, King of Sweden, and beg for some land which\nshe might call her own. The king, amused at her request, promised her\nas much land as she could plow around in one day and night. Gefjon,\nnothing daunted, changed her four sons into oxen, harnessed them to a\nplow, and began to cut a furrow so wide and deep that the king and his\ncourtiers were amazed. But Gefjon continued her work without giving any\nsigns of fatigue, and when she had plowed all around a large piece of\nland forcibly wrenched it away, and made her oxen drag it down into the\nsea, where she made it fast and called it Seeland.\n\n \u201cGefjun drew from Gylfi,\n Rich in stored up treasure,\n The land she joined to Denmark.\n Four heads and eight eyes bearing,\n While hot sweat trickled down them,\n The oxen dragged the reft mass\n That formed this winsome island.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nAs for the hollow she left behind her, it was quickly filled with water\nand formed a lake, at first called Logrum (the sea), but now known\nas M\u00e4lar, whose every indentation corresponds with the headlands of\nSeeland. Gefjon then married Skiold, one of Odin\u2019s sons, and became the\nancestress of the royal Danish race of Skioldungs, dwelling in the city\nof Hleidra or Lethra, which she founded, and which became the principal\nplace of sacrifice for the heathen Danes.\n\n[Sidenote: Eira.]\n\nEira, also Frigga\u2019s attendant, was considered a most skillful\nphysician. She gathered simples all over the earth to cure both wounds\nand diseases, and it was her province to teach her science to women,\nwho were the only ones to practice medicine among the ancient nations\nof the North.\n\n \u201cGaping wounds are bound by Eyra.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nVara heard all oaths and punished perjurers, while she rewarded those\nwho faithfully kept their word. Then there were also V\u00f6r (faith), who\nknew all that was to occur throughout the world, and Snotra, goddess of\nvirtue, who had mastered every kind of study.\n\nWith such a band of followers it is no wonder that Frigga was\nconsidered an influential goddess; but in spite of the prominent place\nshe occupied in Northern religion, she had no special temple or shrine,\nand was but little worshiped except in company with Odin.\n\n[Sidenote: Holda.]\n\nWhile Frigga was not known by this name in southern Germany, there\nwere other goddesses worshiped there, whose attributes were so exactly\nlike hers, that they were evidently the same, although they bore very\ndifferent names in the various provinces. Among them was the fair\ngoddess Holda (Hulda or Frau Holle) who graciously dispensed many rich\ngifts, and as she presided over the weather, the people were wont to\ndeclare when the snowflakes fell that Frau Holle was shaking her bed,\nand when it rained, that she was washing her clothes, often pointing\nto the white clouds as her linen which she had put out to bleach.\nWhen long gray strips of clouds drifted across the sky they said she\nwas weaving, for she too was supposed to be a very diligent weaver,\nspinner, and housekeeper. It is said she gave flax to mankind and\ntaught them how to use it, and in Tyrol the following story is told\nabout the way in which she bestowed this invaluable gift:\n\n[Sidenote: Discovery of flax.]\n\nThere was once a peasant who daily left his wife and children down\nin the valley to take his sheep up the mountain to pasture; and as\nhe watched his flock graze on the mountain side, he often had the\nopportunity to use his cross-bow and bring down a chamois, whose flesh\nfurnished his larder with food for many a day.\n\nWhile pursuing some fine game one day he saw it disappear behind a\nbowlder, and when he came to the spot, he was amazed to see a doorway\nin the neighboring glacier, for in the excitement of the pursuit he\nhad climbed higher and higher until he was now on top of the mountain,\nwhere glittered the everlasting snow.\n\nThe shepherd boldly passed through the open door, and soon found\nhimself in a wonderful jeweled and stalactite-hung cave, in the center\nof which stood a beautiful woman, clad in silvery robes, and attended\nby a host of lovely maidens crowned with Alpine roses. In his surprise,\nthe shepherd sank to his knees, and as in a dream heard the queenly\ncentral figure bid him choose anything he saw to carry away with him.\nAlthough dazzled by the glow of the precious stones around him, the\nshepherd\u2019s eyes constantly reverted to a little nosegay of blue flowers\nwhich the gracious apparition held in her hand, and he now timidly\nproffered a request that it might become his. Smiling with pleasure,\nHolda, for it was she, gave it to him, telling him he had chosen wisely\nand would live as long as the flowers did not droop and fade. Then\ngiving the shepherd a measure of seed which she told him to sow in his\nfield, the goddess bade him begone; and as the thunder pealed and the\nearth shook, the poor man found himself out upon the mountain side once\nmore, and slowly wended his way home to tell his adventure to his wife\nand show her the lovely blue flowers and the measure of seed.\n\nThe woman reproached her husband bitterly for not having brought some\nof the precious stones which he so glowingly described, instead of the\nblossoms and seed; nevertheless the man sowed the latter, and often\nlingered near the field at nightfall to see his new crop grow, for to\nhis surprise the measure had supplied seed enough for several acres.\n\nSoon the little green shoots began to appear, and one moonlight night,\nwhile the peasant was gazing upon them, wondering what kind of grain\nthey would produce, he saw a mistlike form hover above the field, with\nhands outstretched as if in blessing. At last the field blossomed, and\ncountless little blue flowers opened their calyxes to the golden sun.\nWhen the flowers had withered and the seed was ripe, Holda came once\nmore to teach the peasant and his wife how to harvest the flax stalks\nand spin, weave, and bleach the linen they produced. Of course all the\npeople of the neighborhood were anxious to purchase both linen and\nflaxseed, and the peasant and his wife soon grew very rich indeed, for\nwhile he plowed, sowed, and harvested, she spun, wove, and bleached\nher linen. When the man had lived to a good old age and seen his\ngrandchildren and great grandchildren grow up around him, he noticed\nthat his carefully treasured bouquet, whose flowers had remained fresh\nfor many a year, had wilted and died.\n\nKnowing that his time had come and that he too must soon die, the\npeasant climbed the mountain once more, came to the glacier, and found\nthe doorway which he had long vainly sought. He vanished within, and\nwas never seen or heard of again, for the legend states that the\ngoddess took him under her care, and bade him live in her cave, where\nhis every wish was gratified.\n\n[Sidenote: Tannh\u00e4user.]\n\nAccording to a medi\u00e6val tradition, Holda dwelt in a cave in the\nH\u00f6rselberg, in Thuringia, where she was known as Frau Venus, and\nwas considered as an enchantress who lured mortals into her realm,\nwhere she detained them forever, steeping their senses in all manner\nof sensual pleasures. The most famous of her victims is doubtless\nTannh\u00e4user, who, anxious to save his soul, escaped from her power and\nhastened to Rome to confess his sins and seek absolution. But the\npope, hearing that he had been in the company of one of the heathen\ngoddesses, whom the priests taught were nothing but demons, declared\nthat the knight could no more hope for pardon than to see his staff\nbear buds and bloom.\n\n \u201cHast thou within the nets of Satan lain?\n Hast thou thy soul to her perdition pledged?\n Hast thou thy lip to Hell\u2019s Enchantress lent,\n To drain damnation from her reeking cup?\n Then know that sooner from the withered staff\n That in my hand I hold green leaves shall spring,\n Than from the brand in hell-fire scorched rebloom\n The blossoms of salvation.\u201d\n\n TANNH\u00c4USER (Owen Meredith).\n\nCrushed with grief at this sentence, Tannh\u00e4user fled, and finding\nno rest, returned to the H\u00f6rselberg, where he re\u00ebntered the cave in\nspite of the entreaties of the German mentor, the faithful Eckhardt.\nHe had no sooner disappeared, however, than the pope\u2019s messengers\narrived, proclaiming that he was pardoned, for the withered staff had\nmiraculously bloomed, proving to all that there was no sin too heinous\nto be pardoned, providing repentance were sincere.\n\n[Illustration: EASTRE or OSTARA.]\n\n \u201cDashed to the hip with travel, dewed with haste,\n A flying post, and in his hand he bore\n A withered staff o\u2019erflourished with green leaves;\n Who,--followed by a crowd of youth and eld,\n That sang to stun with sound the lark in heaven,\n \u2018A miracle! a miracle from Rome!\n Glory to God that makes the bare bough green!\u2019--\n Sprang in the midst, and, hot for answer, asked\n News of the Knight Tannh\u00e4user.\u201d\n\n TANNH\u00c4USER (Owen Meredith).\n\nThis same Holda was also considered the owner of a magic fountain\ncalled Quickborn, which rivaled the famed fountain of youth, and of a\nchariot in which she rode from place to place, inspecting her domain.\nThis wagon having once suffered damage, the goddess bade a wheelwright\nrepair it, and when he had finished told him to keep the chips as his\npay. The man, indignant at such a meager reward, kept only a very few;\nbut to his surprise found them on the morrow changed to solid gold.\n\n \u201cFricka, thy wife--\n This way she reins her harness of rams.\n Hey! how she whirls\n The golden whip;\n The luckless beasts\n Unboundedly bleat;\n Her wheels wildly she rattles;\n Wrath is lit in her look.\u201d\n\n WAGNER (Forman\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: E\u00e1stre, the goddess of spring.]\n\nThe Saxon goddess E\u00e1stre, or Ostara, goddess of spring, whose name has\nsurvived in the English word Easter, is also identical with Frigga,\nfor she too is considered goddess of the earth, or rather of Nature\u2019s\nresurrection after the long death of winter. This gracious goddess was\nso dearly loved by the old Teutons, that even after Christianity had\nbeen introduced they still retained a pleasant recollection of her,\nutterly refused to have her degraded to the rank of a demon, like many\nof their other divinities, and transferred her name to their great\nChristian feast. It had long been customary to celebrate this day by\nthe exchange of presents of colored eggs, for the egg is the type of\nthe beginning of life; so the early Christians continued to observe\nthis rule, declaring, however, that the egg is also symbolical of the\nresurrection. In various parts of Germany, stone altars can still be\nseen, which are known as Easter-stones, because they were dedicated to\nthe fair goddess Ostara. They were crowned with flowers by the young\npeople, who danced gaily around them by the light of great bonfires,--a\nspecies of popular games kept up until the middle of the present\ncentury, in spite of the priests\u2019 denunciations and of the repeatedly\npublished edicts against them.\n\n[Sidenote: Bertha, the White Lady.]\n\nIn other parts of Germany, Frigga, Holda, or Ostara is known by\nthe name of Brechta, Bertha, or the White Lady. She is best known\nunder this title in Thuringia, where she was supposed to dwell in a\nhollow mountain, keeping watch over the Heimchen, the souls of unborn\nchildren, and of those who died unbaptized. Here Bertha watched over\nagriculture, caring for the plants, which her infant troop watered\ncarefully, for each babe was supposed to carry a little jar for that\nexpress purpose. As long as the goddess was duly respected and her\nretreat unmolested, she remained where she was; but tradition relates\nthat she once left the country with her infant train dragging her plow,\nand settled elsewhere to continue her kind ministrations. Bertha is the\nlegendary ancestress of several noble families, and she is supposed to\nbe the same as the industrious queen of the same name, the mythical\nmother of Charlemagne, whose era has become proverbial, for in speaking\nof the golden age in France and Germany it is customary to say, \u201cin the\ndays when Bertha spun.\u201d\n\nAs this Bertha is supposed to have developed a very large and flat\nfoot, from continually pressing the treadle of her wheel, she is often\nrepresented in medi\u00e6val art as a woman with a splay foot, and hence\nknown as _la reine p\u00e9dauque_.\n\nAs ancestress of the imperial house of Germany, the White Lady is\nsupposed to appear in the palace before a death or misfortune in the\nfamily, and this superstition is still so rife in Germany, that the\nnewspapers in 1884 contained the official report of a sentinel, who\ndeclared that he had seen her flit past him in one of the palace\ncorridors.\n\nAs Bertha was so renowned for her spinning, she naturally was regarded\nas the special patroness of that branch of female industry, and was\nsaid to flit through the streets of every village, at nightfall, during\nthe twelve nights between Christmas and January 6th, peering into every\nwindow to ascertain whether the work were all done.\n\nThe maidens whose work had all been carefully performed were rewarded\nby a present of one of her own golden threads or a distaff full of\nextra-fine flax; but wherever a careless spinner was found, her wheel\nwas broken, her flax soiled, and if she had failed to honor the goddess\nby eating plenty of the cakes baked at that epoch of the year, she was\ncruelly punished.\n\nIn Mecklenburg, this same goddess is known as Frau Gode, or Wode, the\nfemale form of Wuotan or Odin, and her appearance is always considered\nthe harbinger of great prosperity. She is also supposed to be a great\nhuntress, and to lead the Wild Hunt, mounted upon a white horse, her\nattendants being changed into hounds and all manner of wild beasts.\n\nIn Holland she was called Vrou-elde, and from her the Milky Way is\nknown by the Dutch as Vrou-elden-straat; while in parts of northern\nGermany she was called Nerthus (Mother Earth). Her sacred car was kept\non an island, presumably R\u00fcgen, where the priests guarded it carefully\nuntil she appeared to take a yearly journey throughout her realm and\nbless the land. The goddess then sat in this car, which was drawn by\ntwo cows, her face completely hidden by a thick veil, respectfully\nescorted by her priests. The people seeing her pass did her homage by\nceasing all warfare, laid aside their weapons, donned festive attire,\nand began no quarrel until the goddess had again retired to her\nsanctuary. Then both car and goddess were bathed in a secret lake (the\nSchwartze See in R\u00fcgen), which swallowed up the slaves who had assisted\nat the bathing, and once more the priests resumed their watch over the\nsanctuary and grove of Nerthus or Hlodyn, to await her next apparition.\n\nIn Scandinavia, this goddess was also known as Huldra, and boasted of\na train of attendant wood nymphs, who sometimes sought the society of\nmortals, to enjoy a dance upon the village green. They could always\nbe detected, however, by the tip of a cow\u2019s tail which trailed from\nbeneath their long snow-white garments. These Huldra folk were the\nspecial protectors of the herds of cattle on the mountain sides, and\nwere said to surprise the lonely traveler, at times, by the marvelous\nbeauty of the melodies they sang to beguile their labors.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nTHOR.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Thor\u2019s foster parents.]\n\nAccording to some mythologists, Thor, or Donar, is the son of J\u00f6rd\n(Erda), and of Odin, but others state that his mother was Frigga, queen\nof the gods. This child was very remarkable for his great size and\nstrength, and very soon after his birth amazed the assembled gods by\nplayfully lifting and throwing about ten loads of bear skins. Although\ngenerally good tempered, Thor occasionally flew into a terrible rage,\nand as he was very dangerous under these circumstances, his mother,\nunable to control him, sent him away from home and intrusted him to\nthe care of Vingnir (the winged), and of Hlora (heat). These foster\nparents, who are also considered as the personification of sheet\nlightning, soon managed to control their troublesome charge, and\nbrought him up so wisely, that all the gods were duly grateful for\ntheir kind offices. Thor himself, recognizing all he owed them, assumed\nthe names of Vingthor and Hlorridi, by which he is also known.\n\n \u201cCry on, Vingi-Thor,\n With the dancing of the ring-mail and the smitten shields of war.\u201d\n\n SIGURD THE VOLSUNG (William Morris).\n\nHaving attained his full growth and the age of reason, Thor was\nadmitted in Asgard among the other gods, where he occupied one of the\ntwelve seats in the great judgment hall. He was also given the realm\nof Thrud-vang or Thrud-heim, where he built a wonderful palace called\nBilskirnir (lightning), the most spacious in all Asgard. It contained\nfive hundred and forty halls for the accommodation of the thralls,\nwho after death were welcomed to his home, where they were treated as\nwell as their masters in Valhalla, for Thor was the patron god of the\npeasants and lower classes.\n\n \u201cFive hundred halls\n And forty more,\n Methinketh, hath\n Bowed Bilskirnir.\n Of houses roofed\n There\u2019s none I know\n My son\u2019s surpassing.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Percy\u2019s tr.).\n\nAs he was god of thunder, Thor alone was never allowed to pass over the\nwonderful bridge Bifr\u00f6st, lest he should set it aflame by the heat of\nhis presence; and when he daily wished to join his fellow gods by the\nUrdar fountain, under the shade of the sacred tree Yggdrasil, he was\nforced to make his way thither on foot, wading through the rivers Kormt\nand Ormt, and the two streams Kerlaug, to the trysting place.\n\nThor, who was honored as the highest god in Norway, came second in\nthe trilogy of all the other countries, and was called \u201cold Thor,\u201d\nbecause he is supposed by some mythologists to have belonged to an\nolder dynasty of gods, and not on account of his actual age, for he was\nrepresented and described as a man in his prime, tall and well formed,\nwith muscular limbs and bristling red hair and beard, from which, in\nmoments of anger, the sparks fairly flew.\n\n \u201cFirst, Thor with the bent brow,\n In red beard muttering low,\n Darting fierce lightnings from eyeballs that glow,\n Comes, while each chariot wheel\n Echoes in thunder peal,\n As his dread hammer shock\n Makes Earth and Heaven rock,\n Clouds rifting above, while Earth quakes below.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nThe Northern races further adorned him with a crown, on each point of\nwhich was either a glittering star, or a steadily burning flame, so\nthat his head was ever surrounded by a kind of halo of fire, his own\nelement.\n\n[Sidenote: Thor\u2019s hammer.]\n\nThor was the proud possessor of a magic hammer called Mi\u00f6lnir (the\ncrusher) which he hurled at his enemies, the frost giants, with\ndestructive power, and which possessed the wonderful property of always\nreturning to his hand, however far away he might hurl it.\n\n \u201cI am the Thunderer!\n Here in my Northland,\n My fastness and fortress,\n Reign I forever!\n\n \u201cHere amid icebergs\n Rule I the nations;\n This is my hammer,\n Mi\u00f6lnir the mighty;\n Giants and sorcerers\n Cannot withstand it!\u201d\n\n SAGA OF KING OLAF (Longfellow).\n\nAs this huge hammer, the emblem of the thunderbolts, was generally red\nhot, the god had an iron gauntlet called Iarn-greiper, which enabled\nhim to grasp it firmly and hurl it very far, his strength, which was\nalready remarkable, being always doubled when he wore his magic belt\ncalled Megin-gi\u00f6rd.\n\n \u201cThis is my girdle:\n Whenever I brace it,\n Strength is redoubled!\u201d\n\n SAGA OF KING OLAF (Longfellow).\n\nThor\u2019s hammer was considered so very sacred by the ancient Northern\npeople, that they were wont to make the sign of the hammer, as the\nChristians later taught them to make the sign of the cross, to ward\noff all evil influences, and to secure many blessings. The same sign\nwas also made over the newly born infant when water was poured over\nits head and a name given it. The hammer was used to drive in boundary\nstakes, which it was considered sacrilegious to remove, to hallow\nthe threshold of a new house, to solemnize a marriage, and, lastly,\nto consecrate the funeral pyre upon which the bodies of heroes were\nburned, together with their weapons and steeds, and, in some cases,\nwith their wives and dependents.\n\nIn Sweden, Thor, like Odin, was supposed to wear a broad-brimmed hat,\nand hence the storm clouds in that country are known as Thor\u2019s hat, a\nname also given to one of the principal mountains in Norway. The rumble\nand roar of the thunder were called the roll of his chariot, for he\nalone among the gods never rode on horseback, but walked, or drove\nin a brazen chariot drawn by two goats, Tanngniostr (tooth cracker),\nand Tanngrisnr (tooth gnasher), from whose teeth and hoofs the sparks\nconstantly flew.\n\n \u201cThou camest near the next, O warrior Thor!\n Shouldering thy hammer, in thy chariot drawn,\n Swaying the long-hair\u2019d goats with silver\u2019d rein.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nWhen the god thus drove about from place to place, he was called\nAku-thor, or Thor the charioteer, and in southern Germany the people,\nfancying a brazen chariot alone inadequate to furnish all the noise\nthey heard, declared it was loaded with copper kettles, which rattled\nand clashed, and therefore often called him, with disrespectful\nfamiliarity, the kettle vender.\n\n[Sidenote: Thor\u2019s family.]\n\nThor was twice married; first to the giantess Iarnsaxa (iron stone),\nwho bore him two sons, Magni (strength) and Modi (courage), both\ndestined to survive their father and twilight of the gods, and rule\nover the new world which was to rise like a phenix from the ashes of\nthe first. His second wife was Sif, the golden-haired, who also bore\nhim two children, Lorride, and a daughter named Thrud, a young giantess\nrenowned for her size and strength. By the well-known affinity of\ncontrast, Thrud was wooed by the dwarf Alvis, whom she rather favored;\nand one evening, when this suitor, who, being a dwarf, could not face\nthe light of day, presented himself in Asgard to sue for her hand,\nthe assembled gods did not refuse their consent. They had scarcely\nsignified their approbation, however, when Thor, who had been absent,\nsuddenly appeared, and casting a glance of contempt upon the puny\nlover, declared he would have to prove that his knowledge atoned for\nhis small stature, before he could win his bride.\n\nTo test Alvis\u2019s mental powers, Thor then questioned him in the language\nof the gods, Vanas, elves, and dwarfs, artfully prolonging his\nexamination until sunrise, when the first beam of light, falling upon\nthe unhappy dwarf, petrified him. There he stood, an enduring example\nof the gods\u2019 power, and served as a warning to all other dwarfs who\nwould fain have tested it.\n\n \u201cNe\u2019er in human bosom\n Have I found so many\n Words of the old time.\n Thee with subtlest cunning\n Have I yet befooled.\n Above ground standeth thou, dwarf,\n By day art overtaken,\n Bright sunshine fills the hall.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Howitt\u2019s version).\n\n[Sidenote: Sif, the golden-haired.]\n\nSif, Thor\u2019s wife, was very vain of a magnificent head of long golden\nhair which covered her from head to foot like a brilliant veil; and\nas she too was a symbol of the earth, her hair was said to represent\nthe long grass, or the golden grain covering the Northern harvest\nfields. Thor was very proud of his wife\u2019s beautiful hair; imagine his\ndismay, therefore, upon waking one morning, to find her all shorn,\nand as bald and denuded of ornament as the earth when the grain has\nall been garnered, and nothing but the stubble remains! In his anger,\nThor sprang to his feet, vowing he would punish the perpetrator of\nthis outrage, whom he immediately and rightly conjectured to be Loki,\nthe arch plotter, ever on the lookout for some evil deed to perform.\nSeizing his hammer, Thor soon overtook Loki in spite of his attempting\nto evade him by changing form, caught him by the throat, and almost\nstrangled him ere he yielded to his imploring signs, and slightly\nloosed his powerful grasp. As soon as Loki could catch his breath,\nhe implored forgiveness, but all his entreaties were vain, until he\npromised to procure for Sif a new head of hair, as beautiful as the\nfirst, and as luxuriant in growth.\n\n \u201cAnd thence for Sif new tresses I\u2019ll bring\n Of gold, ere the daylight\u2019s gone,\n So that she shall liken a field in spring,\n With its yellow-flowered garment on.\u201d\n\n THE DWARFS, OEHLENSCHL\u00c4GER (Pigott\u2019s tr.).\n\nThor, hearing this, consented to let the traitor go; so Loki rapidly\ncrept down into the bowels of the earth, where Svart-alfa-heim was\nsituated, to beg the dwarf Dvalin to fashion not only the precious\nhair, but a present for Odin and Frey, whose anger he wished to disarm.\n\nThe dwarf soon made the spear Gungnir, which never failed in its aim,\nand the ship Skidbladnir, which, always wafted by favorable winds,\ncould sail through the air as well as on the water, and was so elastic,\nthat although it could contain the gods and all their steeds, it could\nbe folded up into the very smallest compass and thrust in one\u2019s pocket.\nLastly, he spun the very finest golden thread, from which he fashioned\nthe required hair for Sif, declaring that as soon as it touched her\nhead it would grow fast there and become alive.\n\n \u201cThough they now seem dead, let them touch but her head,\n Each hair shall the life-moisture fill;\n Nor shall malice nor spell henceforward prevail\n Sif\u2019s tresses to work aught of ill.\u201d\n\n THE DWARFS, OEHLENSCHL\u00c4GER (Pigott\u2019s tr.).\n\nLoki was so pleased with these proofs of the dwarfs\u2019 skill that he\ndeclared the son of Ivald was the most clever of smiths--words which\nwere overheard by Brock, another dwarf, who exclaimed that he was sure\nhis brother Sindri could produce three objects which would surpass\nthose which Loki held, not only in intrinsic value, but also in magical\nproperties. Loki immediately challenged the dwarf to show his skill,\nwagering his head against Brock\u2019s on the result of the undertaking.\n\nSindri, apprised of the wager, accepted Brock\u2019s offer to blow the\nbellows, warning him, however, that he must work persistently if he\nwished to succeed; then he threw some gold in the fire, and went out\nto bespeak the favor of the hidden powers. During his absence Brock\ndiligently plied the bellows, while Loki, hoping to make him fail,\nchanged himself into a gadfly and cruelly stung his hand. In spite\nof the pain, the dwarf did not let go, and when Sindri returned, he\ndrew out of the fire an enormous wild boar, called Gullin-bursti, on\naccount of its golden bristles, which had the power of radiating light\nas he flitted across the sky, for he could travel through the air with\nmarvelous velocity.\n\n \u201cAnd now, strange to tell, from the roaring fire\n Came the golden-haired Gullinb\u00f6rst,\n To serve as a charger the sun-god Frey,\n Sure, of all wild boars this the first.\u201d\n\n THE DWARFS, OEHLENSCHL\u00c4GER (Pigott\u2019s tr.).\n\nThis first piece of work successfully completed, Sindri flung some more\ngold on the fire and bade his brother blow, ere he again went out to\nsecure magic assistance. This time Loki, still disguised as a gadfly,\nstung the dwarf on his cheek; but in spite of the pain Brock worked on,\nand when Sindri returned, he triumphantly drew out of the flames the\nmagic ring Draupnir, the emblem of fertility, from which eight similar\nrings dropped every ninth night.\n\n \u201cThey worked it and turned it with wondrous skill,\n Till they gave it the virtue rare,\n That each thrice third night from its rim there fell\n Eight rings, as their parent fair.\u201d\n\n THE DWARFS, OEHLENSCHL\u00c4GER (Pigott\u2019s tr.).\n\nNow a lump of iron was cast in the flames, and with a new caution not\nto forfeit their success by inattention, Sindri passed out, leaving\nBrock to ply the bellows and wrestle with the gadfly, which this time\nstung him above the eye until the blood began to flow in such a stream,\nthat it prevented his seeing what he was doing. Hastily raising his\nhand for a second, Brock dashed aside the stream of blood; but short as\nwas the interruption, Sindri uttered an exclamation of disappointment\nwhen he drew his work out of the fire, for the hammer he had fashioned\nhad too short a handle.\n\n \u201cThen the dwarf raised his hand to his brow for the smart,\n Ere the iron well out was beat,\n And they found that the haft by an inch was too short,\n But to alter it then \u2019twas too late.\u201d\n\n THE DWARFS, OEHLENSCHL\u00c4GER (Pigott\u2019s tr.).\n\nNotwithstanding this mishap, Brock was so sure of winning the wager\nthat he did not hesitate to present himself before the gods in Asgard,\ngave Odin the ring Draupnir, Frey the boar Gullin-bursti, and Thor the\nhammer Mi\u00f6lnir, whose power none could resist.\n\nLoki immediately gave the spear Gungnir to Odin, the ship Skidbladnir\nto Frey, and the golden hair to Thor; but although the latter\nimmediately grew upon Sif\u2019s head and was unanimously declared more\nbeautiful than her own locks had ever been, the gods decreed that Brock\nhad won the wager, for the hammer Mi\u00f6lnir, in Thor\u2019s hands, would prove\ninvaluable against the frost giants on the last day.\n\n \u201cAnd at their head came Thor,\n Shouldering his hammer, which the giants know.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nWishing to save his head, Loki fled, but was soon overtaken by Thor,\nwho brought him back and handed him over to Brock, telling him,\nhowever, that although Loki\u2019s head was rightfully his, he must not\ntouch his neck. Thus hindered from obtaining full vengeance, the\ndwarf tried to sew Loki\u2019s lips together, but, as his sword would not\npierce them, he was obliged to borrow his brother\u2019s awl. However, Loki,\nafter enduring the gods\u2019 gibes in silence for a little while, managed\nto cut the string and was soon as loquacious as ever.\n\n[Illustration: THOR.]\n\nIn spite of his redoubtable hammer, Thor was never considered as the\ninjurious god of the storm, who destroyed peaceful homesteads and\nruined the harvest by sudden hail storms and cloud bursts, for the\nNortherners fancied he hurled it only against ice giants and rocky\nwalls, reducing the latter to powder to fertilize the earth and make it\nyield plentiful fruit to the tillers of the soil.\n\nIn Germany, where the eastern storms are always cold and blighting,\nwhile the western bring warm rains and mild weather, Thor was supposed\nto journey always from west to east, to wage war against the evil\nspirits which would fain have enveloped the country in impenetrable\nveils of mist and have bound it in icy fetters.\n\n[Sidenote: Journey to J\u00f6tun-heim.]\n\nAs the giants from J\u00f6tun-heim were continually sending out cold blasts\nof wind to nip the tender buds and hinder the growth of the flowers,\nThor once made up his mind to go and force them to better behavior.\nAccompanied by Loki he therefore set out in his chariot. After riding\nfor a whole day the gods came at nightfall to the confines of the\ngiant-world, where, seeing a peasant\u2019s hut, they resolved to spend the\nnight and refresh themselves.\n\nTheir host was hospitable but very poor, and Thor seeing that he would\nscarcely be able to supply the necessary food to satisfy his by no\nmeans small appetite, slew both his goats, which he cooked and began to\neat, inviting his host and family to partake freely of the food thus\nprovided, but cautioning them to throw all the bones, without breaking\nthem, into the skins spread out on the floor.\n\nThe peasant and his family ate heartily, but a youth called Thialfi,\nencouraged by Loki, ventured to break one of the bones and suck out\nthe marrow, thinking his disobedience would never be detected. On the\nmorrow, however, Thor, ready to depart, struck the goat skins with\nhis hammer Mi\u00f6lnir, and immediately the goats sprang up as lively as\nbefore, except that one seemed somewhat lame. Perceiving in a second\nthat his commands had been disregarded, Thor would have slain the whole\nfamily in his wrath. The culprit acknowledged his fault, however, and\nthe peasant offered to compensate for the loss by giving the irate god\nnot only his son Thialfi, but also his daughter Roskva, to serve him\nforever.\n\nCharging the man to take good care of the goats, which he left there\nuntil he should return, and bidding the young peasants accompany him,\nThor now set out on foot with Loki, and after walking all day found\nhimself at nightfall in a bleak and barren country, which was enveloped\nin an almost impenetrable gray mist. After seeking for some time,\nThor saw through the fog the uncertain outline of what looked like\na peculiar-shaped house. Its open portal was so wide and high that\nit seemed to take up all one side of the house. Entering and finding\nneither fire nor light, Thor and his companions flung themselves\nwearily down on the floor to sleep, but were soon disturbed by a\npeculiar noise, and a prolonged trembling of the ground beneath them.\nFearing lest the main roof should fall during this earthquake, Thor\nand his companions took refuge in a wing of the building, where they\nsoon fell sound asleep. At dawn, the god and his companions passed\nout, but they had not gone very far ere they saw the recumbent form\nof a sleeping giant, and perceived that the peculiar sounds which\nhad disturbed their rest were produced by his snores. At that moment\nthe giant awoke, arose, stretched himself, looked about him for his\nmissing property, and a second later he picked up the object which\nThor and his companions had mistaken in the darkness for a house. They\nthen perceived with amazement that the wing in which they had all\nslept was the separate place in a mitten for the giant\u2019s great thumb!\nLearning that Thor and his companions were on their way to Utgard,\nas the giants\u2019 realm was also called, Skrymir, the giant, proposed to\nbe their guide; and after walking with them all day, he offered them\nthe provisions in his wallet ere he dropped asleep. But, in spite of\nstrenuous efforts, neither Thor nor his companions could unfasten the\nknots which Skrymir had tied.\n\n \u201cSkrymir\u2019s thongs\n Seemed to thee hard,\n When at the food thou couldst not get,\n When, in full health, of hunger dying.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: Utgard-loki.]\n\nAngry because of his snoring, which kept them awake, Thor thrice\ndealt him fearful blows with his hammer. These strokes, instead of\nannihilating the monster, merely evoked sleepy comments to the effect\nthat a leaf, a bit of bark, or a twig from a bird\u2019s nest overhead had\nfallen upon his face. Early on the morrow, Skrymir left Thor and his\ncompanions, pointing out the shortest road to Utgard-loki\u2019s castle,\nwhich was built of great ice blocks, with huge glittering icicles\nas pillars. The gods, slipping between the bars of the great gate,\npresented themselves boldly before the king of the giants, Utgard-loki,\nwho, recognizing them, immediately pretended to be greatly surprised\nat their small size, and expressed a wish to see for himself what they\ncould do, as he had often heard their prowess vaunted.\n\nLoki, who had fasted longer than he wished, immediately declared he\nwas ready to eat for a wager with any one. So the king ordered a great\nwooden trough full of meat to be brought into the hall, and placing\nLoki at one end and his cook Logi at the other, he bade them see which\nwould win. Although Loki did wonders, and soon reached the middle of\nthe trough, he still found himself beaten, for whereas he had picked\nthe bones clean, his opponent had devoured both them and the trough.\n\nSmiling contemptuously, Utgard-loki said that it was evident they\ncould not do much in the eating line, and so nettled Thor thereby,\nthat he declared if Loki could not eat more than the voracious cook,\nhe felt confident he could drain the biggest vessel in the house, such\nwas his unquenchable thirst. Immediately a horn was brought in, and,\nUtgard-loki declaring that good drinkers emptied it at one draught,\nmoderately thirsty persons at two, and small drinkers at three, Thor\napplied his lips to the rim. But, although he drank so deep that he\nthought he would burst, the liquid still came almost up to the rim\nwhen he raised his head. A second and third attempt to empty this\nhorn proved equally unsuccessful. Thialfi then offered to run a race,\nand a young fellow named Hugi soon outstripped him, although he made\nremarkably good time.\n\nThor next proposed to show his strength by lifting great weights, but\nwhen challenged to pick up the giant\u2019s cat, he tugged and strained,\nonly to succeed in raising one paw from the floor, although he had\ntaken the precaution to enhance his strength as much as possible by\ntightening his belt Megin-gi\u00f6rd.\n\n \u201cStrong is great Thor, no doubt, when Megingarder\n He braces tightly o\u2019er his rock-firm loins.\u201d\n\n VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nAn attempt on his part to wrestle with Utgard-loki\u2019s old nurse Elli,\nthe only opponent deemed worthy of such a puny fellow, ended equally\ndisastrously, and the gods, acknowledging they were beaten, were\nhospitably entertained. On the morrow they were escorted to the\nconfines of Utgard, where the giant politely informed them that he\nhoped they would never call upon him again, as he had been forced to\nemploy magic against them. He then went on to explain that he was the\ngiant Skrymir, and that had he not taken the precaution to interpose a\nmountain between his head and Thor\u2019s blows, he would have been slain,\nas deep clefts in the mountain side testified to the god\u2019s strength.\nNext he informed them that Loki\u2019s opponent was Logi (wild fire); that\nThialfi had run a race with Hugi (thought), than which no swifter\nrunner exists; that Thor\u2019s drinking horn was connected with the ocean,\nwhere his deep draughts had produced a perceptible ebb; that the cat\nwas in reality the terrible Midgard snake encircling the world, which\nThor had nearly pulled out of the sea; and that Elli, his nurse, was\nold age, whom none can resist. Having finished these explanations and\ncautioned them never to return or he would defend himself by similar\ndelusions, Utgard-loki vanished, and although Thor angrily brandished\nhis hammer to destroy his castle, such a mist enveloped it that it\ncould not be seen, and the thunder god was obliged to return to\nThrud-vang without having accomplished his purpose, the extermination\nof the race of giants.\n\n \u201cThe strong-armed Thor\n Full oft against giant J\u00f6tun-heim did wend,\n But spite his belt celestial, spite his gauntlets,\n Utgard-Loki still his throne retains;\n Evil, itself a force, to force yields never.\u201d\n\n VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\n[Sidenote: Thor and Hrungnir.]\n\nAs Odin was once dashing through the air on his eight-footed steed\nSleipnir, he attracted the attention of the giant Hrungnir, who\nproposed a race, declaring he was sure his own steed Gullfaxi could\nrival Sleipnir in speed. In the heat of the race, Hrungnir did not\neven notice in what direction they were going, and, in the vain hope\nof overtaking Odin, urged his steed on to the very gates of Valhalla.\nDiscovering where he was, the giant then grew pale with fear, for he\nknew he had jeopardized his life by venturing into the stronghold of\nthe gods, his hereditary foes.\n\nThe \u00c6sir, however, were too honorable to take even an enemy at such a\ndisadvantage, and, instead of doing him any harm, asked him into their\nbanqueting halls, where he proceeded to indulge in liberal potations\nof the heavenly mead set before him. He soon grew so excited that he\nbegan to boast of his power, declaring he would come some day and take\npossession of Asgard, which he would destroy, as well as all the gods,\nexcepting only Freya and Sif, upon whom he gazed with an admiring,\ndrunken leer.\n\nThe gods, knowing he was not responsible, let him talk unmolested; but\nThor, coming home just then from one of his journeys, and hearing him\npropose to carry away his beloved Sif, flew into a terrible rage. He\nfuriously brandished his hammer, intending to annihilate the boaster.\nThis the gods would not permit, however, and they quickly threw\nthemselves between the irate Thunderer and their guest, imploring the\nformer to respect the sacred rights of hospitality, and not desecrate\ntheir peace-stead by shedding blood.\n\nThor at last consented to bridle his wrath, providing the giant\nHrungnir would appoint a time and place for a holmgang, as a Northern\nduel was generally called. Thus challenged, Hrungnir promised to meet\nThor at Griottunagard, the confines of his realm, three days later, and\ndeparted somewhat sobered by the fright he had experienced. When his\nfellow giants heard how rash he had been, they chided him sorely; but\nhearing he was to have the privilege of being accompanied by a squire,\nwhom Thialfi would engage in fight, they proceeded to construct a\ncreature of clay, nine miles long, and proportionately wide, whom they\ncalled Mokerkialfi (mist wader). As they could find no human heart big\nenough to put in this monster\u2019s breast, they secured that of a mare,\nwhich, however, kept fluttering and quivering with apprehension. The\nday of the duel arrived. Hrungnir and his squire were on the ground\nawaiting the arrival of their respective opponents. The giant had not\nonly a flint heart and skull, but also a shield and club of the same\nsubstance, and therefore deemed himself well-nigh invincible. But when\nhe heard a terrible noise, and Thialfi came running up to announce his\nmaster\u2019s coming, he gladly followed the herald\u2019s advice and stood upon\nhis shield, lest the thunder god should come up from the ground and\nattack him unprotected.\n\nA moment later, however, he saw his mistake, for, while Thialfi\nattacked Mokerkialfi with a spade, Thor came rushing up and flung his\nhammer full at his opponent\u2019s head. Hrungnir, to ward off the blow,\ninterposed his stone club, which was shivered into pieces, that flew\nall over the earth, supplying all the flint stones to be found, and one\nfragment sank deep in Thor\u2019s forehead. As the god dropped fainting to\nthe ground, his hammer crashed against the head of Hrungnir, who fell\ndown dead beside him, in such a position that one of his ponderous legs\nwas thrown over the recumbent god.\n\n \u201cThou now remindest me\n How I with Hrungnir fought,\n That stout-hearted J\u00f6tun,\n Whose head was all of stone;\n Yet I made him fall\n And sink before me.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nThialfi, who, in the mean while, had disposed of the great clay giant\nwith its cowardly mare\u2019s heart, now rushed to his master\u2019s rescue;\nbut all his efforts and those of the assembled gods, whom he quickly\nsummoned, could not raise the pinioning leg. While they were standing\nthere, helplessly wondering what they should do next, Thor\u2019s little son\nMagni came up. According to varying accounts, he was then only three\ndays or three years old, but he quickly seized the giant\u2019s foot, and,\nunaided, set his father free, declaring that had he only been summoned\nsooner he would easily have disposed of both giant and squire. This\nexhibition of strength upon his part made the gods wonder greatly, and\nhelped them to recognize the truth of the various predictions, which\none and all declared that their descendants would be mightier than\nthey, would survive them, and would rule in their turn over the new\nheaven and earth.\n\nTo reward his son for his timely aid, Thor gave him the steed Gullfaxi\n(golden-maned), to which he had fallen heir by right of conquest, and\nMagni ever after rode this marvelous horse, which almost equaled the\nrenowned Sleipnir in speed and endurance.\n\n[Sidenote: Groa, the sorceress.]\n\nAfter vainly trying to remove the stone splinter from his forehead,\nThor sadly returned home to Thrud-vang, where Sif\u2019s loving efforts\nwere equally unsuccessful. She therefore resolved to send for Groa\n(green-making), a sorceress, noted for her skill in medicine and for\nthe efficacy of her spells and incantations. Groa immediately signified\nher readiness to render every service in her power to the god who had\nso often benefited her, and solemnly began to recite powerful runes,\nunder whose influence Thor felt the stone grow looser and looser.\nIn his delight at the prospect of a speedy deliverance, Thor wished\nto reward the enchantress. Knowing that nothing could give greater\npleasure to a mother than the prospect of seeing a long-lost child,\nhe therefore told her he had recently crossed the Elivagar, or ice\nstreams, to rescue her little son Orvandil (germ) from the frost\ngiants\u2019 cruel power, and had succeeded in carrying him off in a basket.\nBut, as the little rogue would persist in sticking one of his bare\ntoes through a hole in the basket, it had been frost bitten, and Thor,\naccidentally breaking it off, had flung it up into the sky, where it\nshone as a star, known in the North as \u201cOrvandil\u2019s Toe.\u201d\n\nDelighted with these tidings, the prophetess paused in her incantations\nto express her joy, but, having forgotten just where she left off, she\nwas never able to continue her spell, and the flint stone remained\nimbedded in Thor\u2019s forehead, whence it could never be dislodged.\n\nOf course, as Thor\u2019s hammer always did him such good service, it was\nthe most prized of all his possessions, and his dismay was very great\nwhen he awoke one morning and found it gone. His cry of anger and\ndisappointment soon brought Loki to his side, and to him Thor confided\nthe secret of his loss, declaring that were the giants to hear of it,\nthey would soon attempt to storm Asgard and destroy the gods.\n\n \u201cWroth waxed Thor, when his sleep was flown,\n And he found his trusty hammer gone;\n He smote his brow, his beard he shook,\n The son of earth \u2019gan round him look;\n And this the first word that he spoke:\n \u2018Now listen what I tell thee, Loke;\n Which neither on earth below is known,\n Nor in heaven above: my hammer\u2019s gone.\u2019\u201d\n\n THRYM\u2019S QUIDA (Herbert\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: Thor and Thrym.]\n\nLoki declared he would try to discover the thief and recover the\nhammer, if Freya would only lend him her falcon plumes, and immediately\nhastened off to Folkvang to borrow them. In the form of a bird he\nthen winged his flight across the river Ifing, and over the barren\nstretches of J\u00f6tun-heim, where he shrewdly suspected the thief was to\nbe found. There he saw Thrym, prince of the frost giants and god of the\ndestructive thunder storm, sitting alone on a hillside, and, artfully\nquestioning him, soon learned that he had stolen the hammer, had buried\nit deep underground, and would never give it up unless Freya were\nbrought to him, in bridal array, ready to become his wife.\n\n \u201cI have the Thunderer\u2019s hammer bound\n Fathoms eight beneath the ground;\n With it shall no one homeward tread\n Till he bring me Freya to share my bed.\u201d\n\n THRYM\u2019S QUIDA (Herbert\u2019s tr.).\n\nIndignant at the giant\u2019s presumption, Loki returned to Thrud-vang,\nwhere Thor, hearing what he had learned, declared it would be well to\nvisit Freya and try to prevail upon her to sacrifice herself for the\ngeneral good. But when the \u00c6sir told the goddess of beauty what they\nwished her to do, she flew into such a passion that even her necklace\nburst. She told them that she would never leave her beloved husband\nfor any god, and much less to marry an ugly old giant and dwell in\nJ\u00f6tun-heim, where all was dreary in the extreme, and where she would\nsoon die of longing for the green fields and flowery meadows, in\nwhich she loved to roam. Seeing that further persuasions would be\nuseless, Loki and Thor returned home and there devised another plan\nfor recovering the hammer. By Heimdall\u2019s advice, Thor borrowed and\nreluctantly put on all Freya\u2019s clothes and her necklace, and enveloped\nhimself in a thick veil. Loki, having attired himself as a handmaiden,\nthen mounted with him in the goat-drawn chariot, to ride to J\u00f6tun-heim,\nwhere they intended to play the respective parts of the goddess of\nbeauty and of her attendant.\n\n \u201cHome were driven\n Then the goats,\n And hitched to the car;\n Hasten they must--\n The mountains crashed,\n The earth stood in flames:\n Odin\u2019s son\n Rode to J\u00f6tun-heim.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nThrym welcomed his guests at the palace door, overjoyed at the thought\nthat he was about to secure undisputed possession of the goddess of\nbeauty, for whom he had long sighed in vain. He quickly led them to the\nbanquet hall, where Thor, the bride elect, almost disgraced himself by\neating an ox, eight huge salmon, and all the cakes and sweets provided\nfor the women, washing down these miscellaneous viands with two whole\nbarrels of mead.\n\nThe giant bridegroom watched these gastronomic feats with amazement,\nand was not even reassured when Loki confidentially whispered to him\nthat the bride was so deeply in love with him that she had not been\nable to taste a morsel of food for more than eight days. Thrym then\nsought to kiss the bride, but drew back appalled at the fire of her\nglance, which Loki explained as a burning glance of love. The giant\u2019s\nsister, claiming the usual gifts, was not even noticed; so Loki again\nwhispered to the wondering Thrym that love made people absent-minded.\nIntoxicated with passion and mead, which he, too, had drunk in liberal\nquantities, the bridegroom now bade his servants produce the sacred\nhammer to consecrate the marriage, and as soon as it was brought\nhe himself laid it in the pretended Freya\u2019s lap. The next moment a\npowerful hand closed over the short handle, and the weapon, rapidly\nhurled by Thor, soon slew the giant, his sister, and all the invited\nguests.\n\n \u201c\u2018Bear in the hammer to plight the maid;\n Upon her lap the bruiser lay,\n And firmly plight our hands and fay.\u2019\n The Thunderer\u2019s soul smiled in his breast;\n When the hammer hard on his lap was placed,\n Thrym first, the king of the Thursi, he slew,\n And slaughtered all the giant crew.\u201d\n\n THRYM\u2019S QUIDA (Herbert\u2019s tr.).\n\nLeaving a smoking heap of ruins behind them, the gods then drove\nrapidly back to Asgard, where the borrowed garments were given back\nto Freya, and the \u00c6sir all rejoiced at the recovery of the precious\nhammer. When next Odin glanced towards that part of J\u00f6tun-heim from\nthe top of his throne Hlidskialf, he saw the ruins covered with\ntender green shoots, for Thor, having conquered his enemy, had taken\npossession of his land, which no longer remained barren and desolate as\nbefore, but brought forth fruit in abundance.\n\n[Sidenote: Thor and Geirrod.]\n\nLoki, in search of adventures, once borrowed Freya\u2019s falcon garb and\nflew off to another part of J\u00f6tun-heim, where he perched on top of the\ngables of Geirrod\u2019s house, and, gazing about him, soon attracted the\nattention of this giant, who bade one of his servants catch the bird.\nAmused at the fellow\u2019s clumsy attempts to secure him, Loki flitted\nabout from place to place, only moving just as the giant was about to\nlay hands upon him, until, miscalculating his distance, he suddenly\nfound himself a captive.\n\nGeirrod, gazing upon the bird\u2019s bright eyes, shrewdly suspected that\nit was a god in disguise, and to force him to speak, locked him up\nin a cage, where he kept him for three whole months without food or\ndrink. Conquered at last by hunger and thirst, Loki revealed his\nidentity, and obtained his release by promising that he would induce\nThor to visit Geirrod without his hammer, pelt, or magic gauntlet.\nLoki then flew back to Asgard, and told Thor that he had been royally\nentertained, and that his host had expressed a strong desire to see the\npowerful thunder-god, of whom Loki had told him such wonderful tales.\nFlattered by this artful speech, Thor was soon brought to consent to\na journey to J\u00f6tun-heim, and immediately set out, leaving his three\nmarvelous weapons at home. He and Loki had not gone very far, however,\nere they came to the house of the giantess Grid, one of Odin\u2019s many\nwives, who, seeing Thor disarmed, lent him her own girdle, staff, and\nglove, warning him to beware of treachery. Some time after leaving\nher, Thor and Loki came to the river Veimer, which the thunder-god,\naccustomed to wading, coolly prepared to ford, bidding Loki and Thialfi\ncling fast to his belt if they would come safe across.\n\nIn the middle of the stream, however, a sudden cloudburst and freshet\novertook them; the waters began to rise and roar, and although Thor\nleaned heavily upon his staff, he was almost swept away by the force of\nthe raging current.\n\n \u201cWax not, Veimer,\n Since to wade I desire\n To the realm of the giants!\n Know, if thou waxest,\n Then waxes my asamight\n As high as the heavens.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nLooking up the stream, Thor now became aware of the presence of\nGeirrod\u2019s daughter Gialp, and rightly suspected that she was the cause\nof the storm. He picked up a huge bowlder, which he flung at her,\nmuttering that the best place to dam a river was at its source. The\nrock had the desired effect, for the giantess fled, the waters abated,\nand Thor, exhausted but safe, pulled himself up on the opposite bank by\na little shrub, the mountain-ash or sorb, which has since been known\nas \u201cThor\u2019s salvation,\u201d and considered gifted with occult powers.\nAfter resting awhile the god resumed his journey; but upon arriving\nat Geirrod\u2019s house he was so exhausted that he sank wearily down upon\nthe only chair in sight. To his surprise, however, he felt it rise\nbeneath him, and fearing lest he should be crushed against the rafters,\nhe braced the borrowed staff against the ceiling and forced the chair\ndownward with all his might. A terrible cracking, sudden cries, and\nmoans of pain proved that he had broken the backs of the giant\u2019s\ndaughters, Gialp and Greip, who had slipped under his chair and had\ntreacherously tried to slay him.\n\n \u201cOnce I employed\n My asamight\n In the realm of giants,\n When Gialp and Greip,\n Geirrod\u2019s daughters,\n Wanted to lift me to heaven.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nGeirrod now challenged Thor to show his strength and skill, and without\nwaiting for the preconcerted signal, flung a red-hot wedge at him.\nThor, quick of eye and a practiced catcher, caught the missile with the\ngiantess\u2019s iron glove, and hurled it back at his opponent. Such was the\nforce of the god, that the missile passed, not only through the pillar\nbehind which the giant had taken refuge, but through him and the wall\nof the house, and buried itself deep in the earth without.\n\nThor then marched up to the giant\u2019s corpse, which at the blow from his\nweapon had been changed into stone, and set it up in a conspicuous\nplace, as a monument of his strength and of the victory he had won over\nhis redoubtable foes, the mountain giants.\n\n[Sidenote: Worship of Thor.]\n\nThor\u2019s name has been given to many of the places he was wont to\nfrequent, such as the principal harbor of the Faroe Islands, and to\nfamilies which claim to be descended from him. It is still extant\nin such names as Thunderhill in Surrey, and in the family names of\nThorburn and Thorwaldsen, but is most conspicuous in the name of one\nof the days of the week, Thor\u2019s day or Thursday.\n\n \u201cOver the whole earth\n Still is it Thor\u2019s day!\u201d\n\n SAGA OF KING OLAF (Longfellow).\n\nThor was considered a pre\u00ebminently benevolent deity, and it was for\nthat reason that he was so widely worshiped and that his temples arose\nat Moeri, Hlader, Godey, Gothland, Upsala, and other places, where the\npeople never failed to invoke him for a favorable year at Yule-tide,\nhis principal festival. It was customary on this occasion to burn a\ngreat log of oak, his sacred tree, as an emblem of the warmth and light\nof summer, which would soon come to drive away the darkness and cold of\nwinter.\n\nBrides invariably wore red, Thor\u2019s favorite color, which was considered\nemblematical of love, and for the same reason betrothal rings in the\nNorth were almost always set with a red stone.\n\nThor\u2019s temples and statues, like Odin\u2019s, were fashioned of wood,\nand the greater number of them were destroyed during the reign of\nKing Olaf the Saint. According to ancient chronicles, this monarch\nforcibly converted his subjects. He was specially incensed against the\ninhabitants of a certain province, because they worshiped a rude image\nof Thor, which they decked with golden ornaments, and before which they\nset food every evening, declaring the god ate it, as no trace of it was\nleft in the morning.\n\nThe people, being called upon in 1030 to renounce this idol in favor of\nthe true God, promised to consent if the morrow were cloudy; but when\nafter a whole night spent in ardent prayer, Olaf rapturously beheld a\ncloudy day, the obstinate people declared they were not yet convinced\nof his God\u2019s power, and would only believe if the sun shone on the\nfollowing day.\n\nOnce more Olaf spent the night in prayer, but at dawn his chagrin was\ngreat to see the sky overcast. Nevertheless, determined to gain his\nend he assembled the people near Thor\u2019s statue, and after secretly\nbidding his principal attendant smash the idol with his battle ax if\nthe people turned their eyes away but for a moment, he began to address\nthem. Suddenly, while all were listening to him, Olaf pointed to the\nhorizon, where the sun was slowly breaking its way through the clouds,\nand exclaimed, \u201cBehold our God!\u201d While the people one and all turned\nto see what he meant, the attendant broke the idol, and a host of mice\nand other vermin scattered on all sides. Seeing now that the statue was\nhollow, and that the food placed before their god had been devoured by\nnoxious animals only, the people ceased to revere Thor, and definitely\naccepted the faith which King Olaf had so long and vainly pressed upon\nthem.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nTYR.\n\n\nTyr, Tiu, or Ziu was the son of Odin, and, according to different\nmythologists, his mother was either Frigga, queen of the gods, or a\nbeautiful giantess whose name is unknown, but who was a personification\nof the raging sea. He is the god of martial honor, and one of the\ntwelve principal deities of Asgard. Although he appears to have had no\nspecial dwelling there, he was always welcome to Vingolf or Valhalla,\nand occupied one of the twelve thrones in the great council hall of\nGlads-heim.\n\n \u201cThe hall Glads-heim, which is built of gold;\n Where are in circle ranged twelve golden chairs,\n And in the midst one higher, Odin\u2019s throne.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\n[Sidenote: The god of war.]\n\nTyr was regarded also as the god of courage and of war, and therefore\nfrequently invoked by the various nations of the North, who cried\nto him as well as to Odin to obtain victory. That he ranked next to\nOdin and Thor is proved by his name, Tiu, having been given to one of\nthe days of the week, Tiu\u2019s day, which in modern English has become\nTuesday. Under the name of Ziu, Tyr was the principal divinity of the\nSuabians, who originally called their capital, the modern Augsburg,\nZiusburg. This people, venerating the god as they did, were wont to\nworship him under the emblem of a sword, his distinctive attribute,\nand in his honor held great sword dances, where various figures were\ncarried out. Sometimes the participants forming two long lines, crossed\ntheir swords, point upwards, and challenged the boldest among their\nnumber to take a flying leap over them. At other times the warriors\njoined their sword points closely together in the shape of a rose or\nwheel, and when this figure was complete invited their chief to stand\non the navel thus formed of flat, shining steel blades, and then they\nbore him upon it through the camp in triumph. The sword point was\nfurther considered so sacred that it became customary to register oaths\nupon it.\n\n \u201c... Come hither, gentlemen,\n And lay your hands again upon my sword;\n Never to speak of this that you have heard,\n Swear by my sword.\u201d\n\n HAMLET (Shakespeare).\n\nA distinctive feature of the worship of this god among the Franks and\nsome other Northern nations was that the priests called Druids or Godi\noffered up human sacrifices upon his altars, generally cutting the\nbloody or spread eagle upon their victims, that is to say, making a\ndeep incision on either side of the backbone, turning the ribs thus\nloosened inside out, and tearing out the viscera through the opening\nthus made. Of course only prisoners of war were treated thus, and it\nwas considered a point of honor with north European races to endure\nthis torture without a moan. These sacrifices were made upon rude stone\naltars called dolmens, which can still be seen in Northern Europe.\nAs Tyr was considered the patron god of the sword, it was deemed\nindispensable to engrave the sign or rune representing him upon the\nblade of every sword--an observance which the Edda enjoined upon all\nthose who were desirous of obtaining victory.\n\n \u201cSig-runes thou must know,\n If victory (_sigr_) thou wilt have,\n And on thy sword\u2019s hilt rist them;\n Some on the chapes,\n Some on the guard,\n And twice name the name of Tyr.\u201d\n\n LAY OF SIGDRIFA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nTyr was identical with the Saxon god Saxnot (from sax, a sword), and\nwith Er, Heru, or Cheru, the chief divinity of the Cheruski, who also\nconsidered him god of the sun, and deemed his shining sword blade an\nemblem of its rays.\n\n \u201cThis very sword a ray of light\n Snatched from the Sun!\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\n[Sidenote: Tyr\u2019s sword.]\n\nAccording to an ancient legend, Cheru\u2019s sword, which had been\nfashioned by the dwarfs, sons of Ivald--the same who had also made\nOdin\u2019s spear--was held very sacred by his people, to whose care he\nhad intrusted it, declaring that those who possessed it were sure to\nhave the victory over their foes. But although carefully guarded in\nthe temple, where it was hung so that it reflected the first beams of\nthe morning sun, it suddenly and mysteriously disappeared one night.\nA Vala, druidess, or prophetess, consulted by the priests, revealed\nthat the Norns had decreed that whoever wielded it would conquer the\nworld and come to his death by it; but in spite of all entreaties she\nrefused to tell who had taken it or where it might be found. Some time\nafter this occurrence a tall and dignified stranger came to Cologne,\nwhere Vitellius, the Roman prefect, was feasting, called him away from\nhis beloved dainties, gave him the sword, telling him it would bring\nhim glory and renown, and hailed him as emperor. This cry was taken up\nby the assembled legions, and Vitellius, without making any personal\neffort to secure the honor, found himself elected Emperor of Rome.\n\nThe new ruler, however, was so absorbed in indulging his taste for\nfood and drink that he paid but little heed to the divine weapon. One\nday while leisurely making his way towards Rome he carelessly left it\nhanging in the antechamber to his apartments. A German soldier seized\nthis opportunity to substitute in its stead his own rusty blade. The\nbesotted emperor went on, and was so busily engaged in feasting that he\ndid not notice the exchange. When he arrived at Rome, he learned that\nthe Eastern legions had named Vespasian emperor, and that he was even\nthen on his way home to claim the throne.\n\nSearching for the sacred weapon to defend his rights, Vitellius now\ndiscovered the theft, and, overcome by superstitious fears, did not\neven attempt to fight. He crawled away into a dark corner of his\npalace, whence he was ignominiously dragged by the enraged populace to\nthe foot of the Capitoline Hill. There the prophecy was duly fulfilled,\nfor the German soldier, who had joined the opposite faction, coming\nalong at that moment, cut off Vitellius\u2019 head with the sacred sword.\n\nThe German soldier now changed from one legion to another, and traveled\nover many lands; but wherever he and his sword were found, victory\nwas assured. After winning great honor and distinction, this man,\nhaving grown old, retired from active service to the banks of the\nDanube, where he secretly buried his treasured weapon, building his hut\nover its resting place to guard it as long as he lived. But although\nimplored, when he lay on his deathbed, to reveal where he had hidden\nit, he persistently refused to do so, saying that it would be found\nby the man who was destined to conquer the world, but that he would\nnot be able to escape the curse. Years passed by. Wave after wave the\ntide of barbarian invasion swept over that part of the country, and\nlast of all came the terrible Huns under the leadership of Attila,\nthe \u201cScourge of God.\u201d As he passed along the river, he saw a peasant\nmournfully examining his cow\u2019s foot, which had been wounded by some\nsharp instrument hidden in the long grass, and when search was made the\npoint of a buried sword was found sticking out of the soil.\n\nAttila, seeing the beautiful workmanship and the fine state of\npreservation of this weapon, immediately exclaimed that it was Cheru\u2019s\nsword, and brandishing it above his head announced that he was about\nto conquer the world. Battle after battle was fought by the Huns, who,\naccording to the Saga, were everywhere victorious, until Attila, weary\nof warfare, settled down in Hungary, taking to wife the beautiful\nBurgundian princess Ildico, whose father he had slain. This princess,\nresenting the murder of her kin and wishing to avenge it, took\nadvantage of the king\u2019s state of intoxication upon his wedding night to\nsecure possession of the divine sword, with which she slew him in his\nbed, once more fulfilling the prophecy uttered so many years before.\n\nThe magic sword again disappeared for a long time, only to be unearthed\nonce more and wielded by the Duke of Alva, Charles V.\u2019s general, who\nshortly after won the victory of M\u00fchlberg (1547). Since then nothing\nmore has been heard of the sword of the god Cheru, in whose honor the\nFranks were wont to celebrate yearly martial games; but it is said that\nwhen the heathen gods were renounced in favor of Christianity, the\npriests transferred many of their attributes to the saints, and that\nthis sword became the property of the Archangel St. Michael, who has\nwielded it ever since.\n\nTyr, whose name was synonymous with bravery and wisdom, was also\nconsidered by the ancient Northern people to have the white-armed\nValkyrs, Odin\u2019s attendants, at his beck and call, and to designate the\nwarriors whom they had best transfer to Valhalla to aid the gods on the\nlast day.\n\n \u201cThe god Tyr sent\n Gondul and Skogul\n To choose a king\n Of the race of Ingve,\n To dwell with Odin\n In roomy Valhal.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\n[Sidenote: Story of the wolf Fenris.]\n\nTyr was generally spoken of and represented as one-armed, just as\nOdin was called one-eyed. This fact is explained in various ways by\ndifferent authorities; some claim that it was because he could give the\nvictory only to one side; others, because a sword has but one blade.\nHowever this may be, these explanations did not satisfy the ancients,\nwho preferred to account for the fact by the following myth:\n\nLoki, the arch deceiver, went to J\u00f6tun-heim and secretly married\nthe hideous giantess Angur-boda (anguish boding), who bore him three\nmonstrous children--the wolf Fenris, Hel, the party-colored goddess of\ndeath, and I\u00f6rmungandr, a terrible serpent. He kept the existence of\nthese monsters secret as long as he could; but they speedily grew so\nlarge that they could no longer remain confined in the cave where they\nhad come to light. Odin, from the top of his throne Hlidskialf, soon\nbecame aware of their existence, and also of the frightful rapidity\nwith which they increased in size. Fearing lest the monsters, when they\nhad gained a little more strength, should invade Asgard and destroy the\ngods, Allfather determined to get rid of them, and, striding off to\nJ\u00f6tun-heim, flung Hel down into the depths of Nifl-heim, where he told\nher she could reign over the nine dismal worlds of the dead. He threw\nI\u00f6rmungandr into the sea, where he stretched himself and grew until he\nencircled all the earth and could bite his own tail.\n\n \u201cInto mid-ocean\u2019s dark depths hurled,\n Grown with each day to giant size,\n The serpent soon inclosed the world,\n With tail in mouth, in circle-wise;\n Held harmless still\n By Odin\u2019s will.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nNone too well pleased that the serpent should have attained such\nfearful dimensions in his new element, Odin resolved to lead Fenris to\nAsgard, where he hoped, by kindly treatment, to make him gentle and\ntractable. But the gods one and all shrank back in dismay when they\nsaw the wolf, and none dared approach to give him food except Tyr,\nwhom nothing ever daunted. Seeing that Fenris daily increased in size,\nstrength, voracity, and fierceness, the gods assembled in council to\ndeliberate how they might best dispose of him. They unanimously decided\nthat it would desecrate their peace-steads to slay him, and resolved to\nbind him fast so that he could work them no harm.\n\nWith that purpose in view, they ordered a strong chain named L\u00e6ding,\nand, going out into the yard with it, playfully proposed to Fenris to\nbind it about him, to see whether his vaunted strength could burst it\nasunder. Confident in his ability to release himself, Fenris patiently\nallowed them to bind him fast, but when all stood aside, he shook and\nstretched himself and easily broke the chain to pieces.\n\nConcealing their chagrin, the gods praised his strength, but soon\nleft him to order a much stronger fetter, Droma, which, after some\npersuasion, the wolf allowed them to fasten around him also. A short,\nsharp struggle sufficed, however, to burst this bond too; so it has\nbecome proverbial in the North to use the figurative expressions, \u201cto\nget loose out of L\u00e6ding,\u201d and \u201cto dash out of Droma,\u201d whenever great\ndifficulties have to be surmounted.\n\n \u201cTwice did the \u00c6sir strive to bind,\n Twice did they fetters powerless find;\n Iron or brass of no avail,\n Naught, save through magic, could prevail.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nThe gods, perceiving now that ordinary bonds, however strong, would\nnever prevail against the Fenris wolf\u2019s great strength, bade Skirnir,\nFrey\u2019s servant, go down to Svart-alfa-heim and bid the dwarfs fashion a\nbond which nothing could sever.\n\nBy magic arts the dark elves manufactured a slender silken rope out of\nsuch impalpable materials as the sound of a cat\u2019s footsteps, a woman\u2019s\nbeard, the roots of a mountain, the longings of the bear, the voice of\nfishes, and the spittle of birds, and when it was finished they gave it\nto Skirnir, assuring him that no strength would avail to break it, and\nthat the more it was strained the stronger it would become.\n\n \u201cGleipnir, at last,\n By Dark Elves cast,\n In Svart-alf-heim, with strong spells wrought,\n To Odin was by Skirnir brought:\n As soft as silk, as light as air,\n Yet still of magic power most rare.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nArmed with this bond, called Gleipnir, the gods went with Fenris to the\nIsland of Lyngvi, in the middle of Lake Amsvartnir, and again proposed\nto test his strength. But although Fenris had grown still stronger, he\nmistrusted the bond which looked so slight. He therefore refused to\nallow himself to be bound, unless one of the \u00c6sir would consent to put\nhis hand in his mouth, and leave it there, as a pledge of good faith,\nand that no magic arts were to be used against him.\n\nThe gods heard this condition with dismay, and all drew back except\nTyr, who, seeing that the others would not venture to comply with\nthis request, boldly stepped forward and thrust his hand between the\nmonster\u2019s jaws. The gods now fastened Gleipnir around Fenris\u2019s neck and\npaws, shouting and laughing with glee when they saw that his utmost\nefforts to free himself were fruitless. Tyr, however, could not share\ntheir joy, for the wolf, finding himself captive, snapped his teeth\ntogether for rage, biting off the god\u2019s hand at the wrist, which since\nthen has been known as the wolf\u2019s joint.\n\n LOKI.\n\n \u201cBe silent, Tyr!\n Thou couldst never settle\n A strife \u2019twixt two;\n Of thy right hand also\n I must mention make,\n Which Fenris from thee took.\n\n TYR.\n\n I of a hand am wanting\n But thou of honest fame;\n Sad is the lack of either.\n Nor is the wolf at ease:\n He in bonds must bide\n Until the gods\u2019 destruction.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nDeprived of his right hand, Tyr was now forced to use the maimed arm\nfor his shield, and to wield his sword with his left hand; but such was\nhis dexterity that he slew just as many enemies as before.\n\nThe gods, in spite of all the wolf\u2019s struggles, now drew the end of the\nfetter Gelgia through the rock Gioll, and fastened it to the bowlder\nThviti, which was sunk deep in the ground. Opening wide his fearful\njaws, Fenris uttered such terrible howls that the gods, to silence\nhim, thrust a sword into his mouth, the hilt resting upon his lower\njaw and the point against his palate. The blood then began to pour out\nin such streams that it formed a great river, called Von. The wolf was\ncondemned to remain thus chained fast until the last day, when his\nbonds would burst and he would find himself free to avenge his wrongs.\n\n \u201cThe wolf Fenrir,\n Freed from the chain,\n Shall range the earth.\u201d\n\n DEATH-SONG OF HAKON (W. Taylor\u2019s tr.).\n\nWhile some mythologists see in this myth an emblem of crime restrained\nand made innocuous by the power of the law, others see the underground\nfire, which kept within bounds can injure no one, but which unfettered\nfills the world with destruction and woe. Just as Odin\u2019s second eye is\nsaid to rest in Mimir\u2019s well, so Tyr\u2019s second hand (sword) is found in\nFenris\u2019s jaws, as he has no more use for two weapons than the sky for\ntwo suns.\n\nTyr\u2019s worship is commemorated in sundry places (such as T\u00fcbingen, in\nGermany), which bear more or less modified forms of his name. It has\nalso been given to the aconite, a plant known in Northern countries as\n\u201cTyr\u2019s helm.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nBRAGI.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Origin of poetry.]\n\nAt the time of the dispute between the \u00c6sir and Vanas, when the\npeace articles had all been agreed upon, a vase was brought into the\nassembly into which both parties solemnly spat. From this saliva the\ngods created Kvasir, a being renowned for his wisdom and goodness,\nwho went about the world answering all questions asked him, thus\nteaching and benefiting all mankind. The dwarfs, hearing about Kvasir\u2019s\ngreat wisdom, coveted it, and finding him asleep one day, two of\ntheir number, Fialar and Galar, treacherously slew him, and drained\nevery drop of his blood into three vessels--the kettle Od-hroerir\n(inspiration) and the bowls Son (expiation) and Boden (offering). After\nduly mixing this blood with honey, they manufactured from it a sort of\nbeverage so inspiring that any one who tasted it immediately became a\npoet, and could sing with a charm which was certain to win all hearts.\n\nNow, although the dwarfs had brewed this marvelous mead for their own\nconsumption, they did not even taste it, but hid it away in a secret\nplace, while they went out in search of further adventures. They had\nnot gone very far ere they found the giant Gilling also sound asleep\nlying on a steep bank, and maliciously rolled him into the water,\nwhere he perished. Then hastening to his dwelling, some climbed on the\nroof, carrying a huge millstone, while the others, entering, told the\ngiantess that her husband was dead. This news caused the poor woman\ngreat grief; but just as she was rushing out of the house to view\nGilling\u2019s remains, the wicked dwarfs rolled the millstone down upon\nher head, and killed her. According to another account, the dwarfs\ninvited the giant to go fishing with them, and succeeded in slaying him\nby sending him out in a leaky vessel, which sank beneath his weight.\n\nThe crime thus committed did not long remain unpunished, for although\nGilling\u2019s wife was dead, he had left a brother, Suttung, who determined\nto avenge him. Seizing the dwarfs in his mighty grasp, this giant\nplaced them on a shoal far out at sea, where they would surely have\nperished at the next high tide had they not succeeded in redeeming\ntheir lives by relinquishing their recently brewed mead. As soon as\nSuttung set them ashore, they therefore gave him the precious compound,\nwhich he intrusted to his daughter Gunlod, bidding her guard it night\nand day, and allow neither gods nor mortals to have even a taste. To\nfulfill this command, Gunlod carried the three vessels into the hollow\nmountain, where she kept watch over them with the most scrupulous care,\nlittle suspecting that Odin had discovered their place of concealment,\nthanks to the sharp eyes of his ever-vigilant ravens Hugin and Munin.\n\nAs Odin had mastered the runic lore and had tasted the waters of\nMimir\u2019s fountain, he was already the wisest of gods; but hearing of\nthe power of the draught of inspiration manufactured out of Kvasir\u2019s\nblood, he became very anxious to obtain possession of it also. With\nthis purpose in view he therefore donned his broad-brimmed hat, wrapped\nhimself in his cloud-hued cloak, and journeyed off to J\u00f6tun-heim. On\nhis way to the giant\u2019s dwelling he passed by a field where nine ugly\nthralls were busy making hay. Odin paused for a moment, watched them\nwork, and then proposed to whet their scythes, which seemed very dull\nindeed--an offer which the thralls eagerly accepted.\n\nDrawing a whetstone from his bosom, Odin proceeded to sharpen the nine\nscythes, skillfully giving them such a keen edge that the thralls,\nfinding their labor much lightened, asked for his whetstone. With\ngood-humored acquiescence, Odin tossed the whetstone over the wall;\nbut as the nine thralls simultaneously sprang forward to catch it,\nthey wounded one another with their keen scythes. In anger at their\nrespective carelessness, they now began to fight, and did not pause\nuntil they were all either mortally wounded or dead.\n\nQuite undismayed by this tragedy, Odin continued on his way, and\nsoon came to the house of the giant Baugi, a brother of Suttung, who\nreceived him very hospitably, and in the course of the conversation\ninformed him that he was greatly embarrassed, as it was harvest time\nand all his workmen had just been found dead in the hayfield.\n\nOdin, who on this occasion had given his name as Bolwerk (evil doer),\npromptly offered his services to the giant, promising to accomplish\nas much work as the nine thralls, and to labor diligently all summer\nin exchange for one single draught of Suttung\u2019s magic mead when the\nbusy season was ended. This bargain was immediately concluded, and\nBaugi\u2019s new servant, Bolwerk, worked incessantly all summer long, more\nthan fulfilling his part of the contract, and safely garnering all the\ngrain before the autumn rains began to fall. When the first days of\nwinter came, Bolwerk presented himself before his master, claiming his\nreward. But Baugi hesitated and demurred, saying he dared not openly\nask his brother Suttung for a draught of inspiration, but would try to\nobtain it by cunning. Together, Bolwerk and Baugi then proceeded to the\nmountain where Gunlod dwelt, and as they could find no other mode of\nentering the secret cave, Odin produced his trusty auger, called Rati,\nand bade the giant bore with all his might to make a hole through which\nhe might crawl into the mountain.\n\nBaugi silently obeyed, and after a few moments\u2019 work withdrew the tool,\nsaying that he had pierced through the mountain side, and that Odin\nwould have no difficulty in slipping through. But the god, mistrusting\nthis statement, merely blew into the hole, and when the dust and chips\ncame flying into his face, he sternly bade Baugi resume his boring\nand never attempt to deceive him again. The giant bored on, and when\nhe withdrew his tool again, Odin ascertained that the hole was really\nfinished. Changing himself into a worm, he wriggled through with\nsuch remarkable rapidity that he managed to escape, although Baugi\ntreacherously thrust the sharp auger into the hole after him, intending\nto kill him.\n\n \u201cRati\u2019s mouth I caused\n To make a space,\n And to gnaw the rock;\n Over and under me\n Were the J\u00f6tun\u2019s ways:\n Thus I my head did peril.\u201d\n\n H\u00c1VAM\u00c1L (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nHaving reached the stalactite-hung cave, Odin reassumed his usual\ngodlike form and starry mantle, and then presented himself before the\nbeautiful Gunlod to exert all his fascinations to win her love, and\ncoax her to grant him a sip from each of the vessels confided to her\ncare.\n\nWon by his passionate wooing, Gunlod consented to become his wife,\nand after he had spent three whole days with her in this retreat, she\nbrought out the vessels from their secret hiding place, and told him he\nmight take a sip from each.\n\n \u201cAnd a draught obtained\n Of the precious mead,\n Drawn from Od-hroerir.\u201d\n\n ODIN\u2019S RUNE-SONG (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nOdin made use of this permission to drink so deeply that he completely\ndrained all three vessels, and then, having obtained all he wanted,\nand being intoxicated with love, poetry, and inspiration, he donned\nhis eagle plumes, rose higher and higher up into the blue, and, after\nhovering for a moment over the mountain top, winged his heavy flight\ntowards Asgard.\n\nHe was still very far from the gods\u2019 realm, however, when he suddenly\nbecame aware of a pursuer, and, turning his head, ascertained that\nSuttung, having also assumed the form of an eagle, was coming rapidly\nafter him to compel him to surrender the stolen mead. Odin therefore\nflew faster and faster, straining every nerve to reach Asgard before\nthe foe should overtake him, while the gods anxiously watched the race.\n\nSeeing that Odin was greatly handicapped and would scarcely be able to\nescape, the \u00c6sir hastily gathered all the combustible materials they\ncould find, and as soon as he had flown over the ramparts of their\ndwelling, they set fire to the mass of fuel, so that the flames, rising\nhigh, singed the wings of Suttung, who, bewildered with pain, fell into\nthe very midst of the fire, where he was burned to death.\n\nAs for Odin, he flew on to the spot where the gods had prepared vessels\nfor the stolen mead, and disgorged the draught of inspiration in such\nbreathless haste that a few drops were scattered over the earth. There\nthey became the portion of rhymsters and poetasters, the gods reserving\nthe divine beverage for their own consumption, and only occasionally\nvouchsafing a taste to some favored mortal, who, immediately after, won\nworld-wide renown by his inspired songs.\n\n \u201cOf a well-assumed form\n I made good use:\n Few things fail the wise;\n For Od-hroerir\n Is now come up\n To men\u2019s earthly dwellings.\u201d\n\n H\u00c1VAM\u00c1L (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nAs men and gods owed this priceless gift to Odin, they were ever ready\nto show him their gratitude, and not only called it by his name, but\nalso worshiped him as god of eloquence, poetry, and song, and made him\nthe patron of all scalds.\n\n[Sidenote: The god of music.]\n\nAlthough Odin had thus won the gift of poetry, he seldom made use of\nit himself. It was reserved for his son Bragi, the child of Gunlod,\nto become the god of poetry and music and to charm the world with his\nsongs.\n\n \u201cWhite-bearded bard, ag\u2019d\n Bragi, his gold harp\n Sweeps--and yet softer\n Stealeth the day.\u201d\n\n VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nAs soon as Bragi was born in the stalactite-hung cave where Odin had\nwon Gunlod\u2019s affections, the dwarfs presented him with a magic golden\nharp, and, setting him on board of one of their own vessels, sent him\nout into the wide world. As the boat gently passed out of subterranean\ndarkness, and floated over the threshold of Nain, the realm of the\ndwarf of death, Bragi, the fair and immaculate young god, who until\nthen had shown no signs of life, suddenly sat up, and, seizing the\ngolden harp beside him, began to sing the wondrous song of life, which\nat times rose up to heaven, and then sank down to the underground realm\nof Hel, the goddess of death.\n\n \u201cYggdrasil\u2019s ash is\n Of all trees most excellent,\n And of all ships, Skidbladnir;\n Of the \u00c6sir, Odin,\n And of horses, Sleipnir;\n Bifr\u00f6st of bridges,\n And of scalds, Bragi.\u201d\n\n LAV OF GRIMNIR (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nWhile he played the vessel was gently wafted over sunlit waters, and\nsoon touched the shore. The god Bragi then proceeded on foot, threading\nhis way through the bare and silent forest, playing as he walked. At\nthe sound of his tender music the trees began to bud and bloom, and the\ngrass underfoot was gemmed with countless flowers.\n\nHere he met Idun, daughter of Ivald, the fair goddess of immortal\nyouth, whom the dwarfs allowed to visit the earth from time to time,\nand at her approach nature invariably assumed its loveliest and\ngentlest aspect.\n\nBragi having secured this fair goddess for his wife hastened with\nher to Asgard, where both were warmly welcomed and where Odin, after\ntracing runes on Bragi\u2019s tongue, decreed that he should be the heavenly\nminstrel and compose songs in honor of the gods and of the heroes whom\nhe received in Valhalla.\n\n[Sidenote: Worship of Bragi.]\n\nAs Bragi was god of poetry, eloquence, and song, the Northern races\nalso called poetry by his name, and scalds of either sex were\nfrequently designated as Braga-men or Braga-women. Bragi was greatly\nhonored by all the Northern races, and hence his health was always\ndrunk on solemn or festive occasions, but especially at funeral feasts\nand at Yule-tide celebrations.\n\nWhen it was time to drink this toast, which was served in cups shaped\nlike a ship, and was called the Bragaful, the sacred sign of the hammer\nwas first made over it. Then the new ruler or head of the family\nsolemnly pledged himself to some great deed of valor, which he was\nbound to execute within the year, unless he wished to be considered\ndestitute of honor. Following his example, all the guests were then\nwont to make similar vows and declare what they would do; and as some\nof them, owing to previous potations, talked rather too freely of their\nintentions on these occasions, this custom seems to connect the god\u2019s\nname with the vulgar but very expressive English verb \u201cto brag.\u201d\n\nIn art, Bragi is generally represented as an elderly man, with long\nwhite hair and beard, and holding the golden harp from which his\nfingers could draw such magic tones.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nIDUN.\n\n\n[Sidenote: The apples of youth.]\n\nIdun, the personification of spring or immortal youth, who, according\nto some mythologists, had no birth and was never to taste death, was\nalso warmly welcomed by the gods when she made her appearance in Asgard\nwith Bragi. To win their affections she promised them a daily taste of\nthe marvelous apples which she bore in her casket, which had the power\nof conferring immortal youth and loveliness upon all who partook of\nthem.\n\n \u201cThe golden apples\n Out of her garden\n Have yielded you dower of youth,\n Ate you them every day.\u201d\n\n WAGNER (Forman\u2019s tr.).\n\nThanks to this magic fruit, the Scandinavian gods, who, because they\nsprang from a mixed race, were not all immortal, warded off the\napproach of old age and disease, and remained vigorous, beautiful, and\nyoung through countless ages. These apples were therefore considered\nvery precious indeed, and Idun carefully treasured them in her magic\ncasket. But no matter how many she drew out, the same number always\nremained for distribution at the feast of the gods, to whom alone she\nvouchsafed a taste, although dwarfs and giants were eager to obtain\npossession of this fruit.\n\n \u201cBright Iduna, Maid immortal!\n Standing at Valhalla\u2019s portal,\n In her casket has rich store\n Of rare apples, gilded o\u2019er;\n Those rare apples, not of Earth,\n Ageing \u00c6sir give fresh birth.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nOne day, Odin, Hoenir, and Loki started out upon one of their usual\nexcursions to earth, and, after wandering for a long while, found\nthemselves in a deserted region, where they could discover no\nhospitable dwelling. Weary and very hungry, the gods perceiving a herd\nof oxen, slew one, kindled a fire, and sat down beside it to rest while\nwaiting for their meat to cook.\n\nTo their surprise, however, in spite of the roaring flames the meat\nremained quite raw. Realizing that some magic must be at work, they\nlooked about them to discover what could hinder their cookery. They\nfinally perceived an eagle perched upon a tree above them. The bird\naddressed them and declared that the spell would be removed and the\nmeat done to a turn in a very short time if they would only give him as\nmuch food as he could eat. The gods agreed to do this, and the eagle,\nswooping downwards, fanned the flames with his huge wings, and soon\nthe meat was cooked. But as he was about to carry off three quarters\nof the ox as his share, Loki seized a great stake lying near at hand,\nand began to belabor the voracious bird, forgetting that it was versed\nin magic arts. To his great dismay one end of the stake stuck fast to\nthe eagle\u2019s back, the other to his hands, and he found himself dragged\nover stones and through briers, flying through the air, his arms almost\ntorn out of their sockets. In vain he cried for mercy and implored the\neagle to let him go; the bird flew on, until he promised any ransom his\nravisher could ask in exchange for his release.\n\n[Sidenote: Thiassi, the storm giant.]\n\nThe bird, who was the storm giant Thiassi in eagle guise, let him go\nonly upon one condition. He made him promise upon the most solemn of\noaths that he would lure Idun out of Asgard, so that the giant might\nobtain possession of her and of her magic fruit.\n\nReleased at last, Loki returned to join Odin and Hoenir, to whom,\nhowever, he was very careful not to confide the condition upon which he\nhad obtained his freedom; and when they had returned to Asgard he began\nto plan how he might entice Idun outside of the gods\u2019 abode. A few days\nlater, Bragi being absent on one of his minstrel tours, Loki sought\nIdun in the groves of Brunnaker, where she had taken up her abode, and\nby artfully describing some apples which grew at a short distance from\nthere, and which he mendaciously declared were exactly like hers, he\nlured her away from home with a crystal dish full of fruit, which she\nintended to compare with that which he extolled. No sooner had Idun\nleft Asgard, however, than the deceiver Loki forsook her, and ere she\ncould return home the storm giant Thiassi swept down from the north\non his eagle wings, caught her up in his cruel talons, and bore her\nswiftly away to his barren and desolate home of Thrym-heim.\n\n \u201cThrym-heim the sixth is named,\n Where Thiassi dwelt,\n That all-powerful J\u00f6tun.\u201d\n\n LAY OF GRIMNIR (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nThere she pined, grew pale and sad, but persistently refused to give\nhim the smallest bite of her magic fruit, which, as he well knew, would\nmake him beautiful and renew his strength and youth.\n\n \u201cAll woes that fall\n On Odin\u2019s hall\n Can be traced to Loki base.\n From out Valhalla\u2019s portal\n \u2019Twas he who pure Iduna lured,--\n Whose casket fair\n Held apples rare\n That render gods immortal,--\n And in Thiassi\u2019s tower immured.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nTime passed. The gods, thinking that Idun had accompanied her husband\nand would soon return, at first paid no heed to her departure, but\nlittle by little the beneficial effect of their last apple feast passed\naway. They gradually felt themselves grow old and stiff, and saw their\nyouth and beauty disappear; so they became alarmed and began to search\nfor the missing goddess of perpetual youth.\n\nClose investigation very soon revealed the fact that she had last been\nseen in Loki\u2019s company, and when Odin sternly called him to account,\nthis god was forced to reveal that he had betrayed her into the storm\ngiant\u2019s power.\n\n \u201cBy his mocking, scornful mien,\n Soon in Valhal it was seen\n \u2019Twas the traitor Loki\u2019s art\n Which had led Idun apart\n To gloomy tower\n And J\u00f6tun power.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nThe gods now indignantly bade Loki undo the harm he had done and\nimmediately bring the goddess back, warning him that unless he complied\nwith this command he would forfeit his life.\n\nThus adjured, Loki promised to do all he could, and, borrowing Freya\u2019s\nfalcon plumage, flew off to Thrym-heim, where he found Idun alone,\nsadly mourning her exile from Asgard and her beloved Bragi. Changing\nthe fair goddess into a nut according to some mythologists, or\naccording to others, into a swallow, Loki held her tightly between his\nclaws, and rapidly winged his way back to Asgard, hoping he would reach\nthe shelter of its high walls ere Thiassi returned from his fishing\nexcursion in the Northern seas.\n\nThe gods, assembled on the ramparts of the heavenly city, were watching\nfor his return with far more anxiety than they had for Odin when he\nwent in search of Od-hroerir, and, remembering the success of their\nruse on that occasion, they had gathered great piles of fuel, which\nthey were ready to set on fire at any moment.\n\n[Sidenote: Return of Idun.]\n\nSuddenly they saw Loki coming, but descried in his wake the giant\nThiassi, who, in eagle plumes, was striving to overtake him and claim\nhis prey. Loki, knowing his life depended upon the success of his\nventure, made such great efforts to reach the goal ere Thiassi overtook\nhim that he cleared the wall and sank exhausted in the midst of the\ngods, who, setting fire to the accumulated fuel, singed Thiassi\u2019s\nwings, blinded him with smoke, and, when he dropped stunned in their\nmidst, ruthlessly fell upon and slew him.\n\nThe \u00c6sir were overjoyed at the recovery of Idun,--who hastened to deal\nout her apples to them all. Feeling their wonted strength and good\nlooks return with every mouthful they ate, they good-naturedly declared\nthat it was no wonder even the giants longed to taste the apples of\nperpetual youth. They therefore vowed they would place Thiassi\u2019s eyes\nas constellations in the heavens, in order to soften any feeling of\nanger which his relatives might experience upon learning how he had\nbeen slain.\n\n \u201cUp I cast the eyes\n Of Allvaldi\u2019s son\n Into the heaven serene:\n They are signs the greatest\n Of my deeds.\u201d\n\n LAY OF HARBARD (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: The goddess of spring.]\n\nThe physical explanation of this myth is obvious. Idun, the emblem of\nvegetation, is forcibly carried away in autumn, when Bragi is absent\nand the singing of the birds has ceased. The cold wintry wind, Thiassi,\ndetains her in the frozen, barren north, where she cannot thrive,\nuntil Loki, the south wind, brings back the seed or the swallow, which\nare both precursors of the returning spring. The youth, beauty, and\nstrength conferred by Idun are symbolical of Nature\u2019s resurrection in\nspring after winter\u2019s sleep, when color and vigor return to the earth,\nwhich has grown wrinkled and gray.\n\nAs the disappearance of Idun (vegetation) was a yearly occurrence,\nthe old scalds were not content with this one myth, but also\ninvented another, which, unfortunately, has come down to us only in\na fragmentary and very incomplete form. According to this account,\nIdun was once sitting upon the branches of the sacred ash Yggdrasil,\nwhen, growing suddenly faint, she loosed her hold and dropped down on\nthe ground beneath, to the lowest depths of Nifl-heim. There she lay,\npale and motionless, gazing with fixed and horror-struck eyes upon the\ngrewsome sights of Hel\u2019s realm, trembling violently all the while, as\nif overcome by the penetrating cold.\n\n \u201cIn the dales dwells\n The prescient D\u00ees,\n From Yggdrasil\u2019s\n Ash sunk down,\n Of alfen race,\n Idun by name,\n The youngest of Ivaldi\u2019s\n Elder children.\n She ill brooked\n Her descent\n Under the hoar tree\u2019s\n Trunk confined.\n She would not happy be\n With Norvi\u2019s daughter,\n Accustomed to a pleasanter\n Abode at home.\u201d\n\n ODIN\u2019S RAVENS\u2019 SONG (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nSeeing that she did not rouse herself and return, Odin finally bade\nBragi, Heimdall, and another of the gods go in search of her, giving\nthem a white wolfskin to envelop her in, so that she should not suffer\nfrom the cold, and bidding them make every effort to rouse her from her\nstupor.\n\n \u201cA wolf\u2019s skin they gave her,\n In which herself she clad.\u201d\n\n ODIN\u2019S RAVENS\u2019 SONG (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nBut although Idun passively allowed them to wrap her up in the warm\nwolfskin, she persistently refused to speak or move, and the gods\nsadly suspected she foresaw great ills, for the tears continually\nrolled down her pallid cheeks. Bragi, seeing her unhappiness, bade the\nother gods return to Asgard without him, vowing that he would remain\nbeside her until she was ready to leave Hel\u2019s dismal realm. But the\nsight of her woe oppressed him so sorely that he had no heart for his\nusual merry songs, and the strings of his harp remained entirely mute.\n\n \u201cThat voice-like zephyr o\u2019er flow\u2019r meads creeping,\n Like Bragi\u2019s music his harp strings sweeping.\u201d\n\n VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nIn this myth Idun\u2019s fall from Yggdrasil is symbolical of the autumnal\nfalling of the leaves, which lie limp and helpless on the cold bare\nground until they are hidden from sight under the snow, represented by\nthe wolfskin, which Odin, the sky, sends down to keep them warm; and\nthe cessation of the birds\u2019 songs is further typified by Bragi\u2019s silent\nharp.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nNI\u00d6RD.\n\n\nWe have already seen how the \u00c6sir and Vanas exchanged hostages after\nthe terrible war they had waged against each other, and that while\nHoenir, Odin\u2019s brother, went to live in Vana-heim, Ni\u00f6rd, with his two\nchildren, Frey and Freya, definitely took up his abode in Asgard.\n\n \u201cIn Vana-heim\n Wise powers him created,\n And to the gods a hostage gave.\u201d\n\n LAY OF VAFTHRUDNIR (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nAs ruler of the winds, and of the sea near the shore, Ni\u00f6rd was given\nthe palace of N\u00f4at\u00fbn, near the seashore, where we are told he stilled\nthe terrible tempests stirred up by \u00c6gir, god of the deep sea.\n\n \u201cNi\u00f6rd, the god of storms, whom fishers know;\n Not born in Heaven--he was in Van-heim rear\u2019d,\n With men, but lives a hostage with the gods;\n He knows each frith, and every rocky creek\n Fringed with dark pines, and sands where sea fowl scream.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nHe also extended his special protection over commerce and fishing,\nwhich two occupations could be pursued with advantage only during\nthe short summer months, of which he was in a measure considered the\npersonification.\n\n[Sidenote: God of summer.]\n\nNi\u00f6rd is represented in art as a very handsome god, in the prime of\nlife, clad in a short green tunic, with a crown of shells and seaweed\nupon his head, or a broad-brimmed hat adorned with eagle or heron\nplumes. As personification of the summer, he was invoked to still the\nraging storms which desolated the coasts during the winter months. He\nwas also implored to hasten the vernal warmth and thereby extinguish\nthe winter fires.\n\nAs agriculture was practiced only during the summer months, and\nprincipally along the fiords or sea inlets, Ni\u00f6rd was also invoked for\nfavorable harvests, for he was said to delight in prospering those who\nplaced their trust in him.\n\nNi\u00f6rd\u2019s first wife, according to some authorities, was his sister\nNerthus, Mother Earth, who in Germany was identified with Frigga, as we\nhave seen, but in Scandinavia was considered a separate divinity. He\nwas, however, obliged to part with her when summoned to Asgard, where\nhe occupied one of the twelve seats in the great council hall, and was\npresent at all the assemblies of the gods, withdrawing to N\u00f4at\u00fbn only\nwhen his services were not required by the \u00c6sir.\n\n \u201cN\u00f4at\u00fbn is the eleventh;\n There Ni\u00f6rd has\n Himself a dwelling made,\n Prince of men;\n Guiltless of sin,\n He rules o\u2019er the high-built fane.\u201d\n\n LAY OF GRIMNIR (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nIn his own home by the seashore, Ni\u00f6rd delighted in watching the gulls\nfly to and fro, and in observing the graceful movements of the swans,\nhis favorite birds, which were held sacred to him. He spent many an\nhour, too, considering the gambols of the gentle seals, which came to\nbask in the sunshine at his feet.\n\n[Sidenote: Skadi, goddess of winter.]\n\nShortly after Idun\u2019s recovery from Thrym-heim, and Thiassi\u2019s death\nwithin the bounds of Asgard, the assembled gods were greatly surprised\nand dismayed to see Skadi, the giant\u2019s daughter, appear one day in\ntheir midst, demanding satisfaction for her father\u2019s death. Although\nthe daughter of an ugly old Hrim-thurs, Skadi, the goddess of winter,\nwas very beautiful indeed, in her silvery armor, with her glittering\nspear, sharp-pointed arrows, short white hunting dress, white fur\nleggings, and broad snowshoes, and as she confronted the gods they\ncould not but recognize the justice of her claim, and offered the usual\nfine in atonement. Skadi, however, was so very angry that she at first\nrefused this compromise, and sternly demanded a life for a life, until\nLoki, wishing to appease her wrath, and thinking that if he could only\nmake those proud lips unbend enough to smile the rest would be easy,\nbegan to play all manner of pranks. Fastening a goat to himself by\nan invisible cord, he went through a series of antics, grotesquely\nreproduced by the goat; and this sight was so very comical that all the\ngods fairly shouted with merriment, and even Skadi was seen to smile.\n\nTaking advantage of this softened mood, the gods pointed to the\nfirmament where her father\u2019s eyes glowed like radiant stars in the\nnorthern hemisphere. They told her they had placed them there to show\nhim all honor, and finally added that she might select as husband any\nof the gods present at the assembly, providing she were content to\njudge of their attractions by their naked feet.\n\nBlindfolded, so that she could see only the feet of the gods standing\nin a circle around her, Skadi looked about her until she saw a pair of\nbeautifully formed feet. She felt sure they must belong to Balder, the\ngod of light, whose bright face had charmed her, and she designated\ntheir owner as her choice.\n\nBut when the bandage was removed, she discovered to her secret chagrin\nthat she had chosen Ni\u00f6rd, to whom her troth was plighted, and with\nwhom she nevertheless spent a very happy honeymoon in Asgard, where all\nseemed to delight in doing her honor. This time passed, however; Ni\u00f6rd\ntook his bride home to N\u00f4at\u00fbn, where the monotonous sound of the waves,\nthe shrieking of the gulls, and the cries of the seals so disturbed\nSkadi\u2019s slumbers that she finally declared it was quite impossible for\nher to remain there any longer, and implored her husband to take her\nback to her native Thrym-heim.\n\n \u201cSleep could I not\n On my sea-strand couch,\n For screams of the sea fowl.\n There wakes me,\n When from the wave he comes,\n Every morning the mew (gull).\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nNi\u00f6rd, anxious to please his new wife, consented to take her to\nThrym-heim and dwell there with her nine nights out of every twelve,\nproviding she would spend the remaining three with him at N\u00f4at\u00fbn; but\nwhen he reached the mountain region, the soughing of the wind in the\npines, the thunder of the avalanches, the cracking of the ice, the roar\nof the waterfalls, and the howling of the wolves appeared to him as\nunbearable as the sound of the sea had seemed to his wife, and he could\nnot but rejoice when his time of exile was ended, and he once more\nfound himself domiciled at N\u00f4at\u00fbn.\n\n \u201cAm weary of the mountains;\n Not long was I there,\n Only nine nights;\n The howl of the wolves\n Methought sounded ill\n To the song of the swans.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\n[Sidenote: Parting of Ni\u00f6rd and Skadi.]\n\nFor some time, Ni\u00f6rd and Skadi, who are the personifications of summer\nand winter, alternated thus, the wife spending the three short summer\nmonths by the sea, and he reluctantly remaining with her in Thrym-heim\nduring the nine long winter months. But, finding at last that their\ntastes would never agree, they decided to part forever, and returned to\ntheir respective homes, where each could follow the occupations which\ncustom had endeared.\n\n \u201cThrym-heim it\u2019s called,\n Where Thjasse dwelled,\n That stream-mighty giant;\n But Skade now dwells,\n Pure bride of the gods,\n In her father\u2019s old mansion.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nSkadi now resumed her wonted pastime of hunting, leaving her realm\nagain only to marry the semi-historical Odin, to whom she bore a son\ncalled S\u00e6ming, the first king of Norway, and the supposed founder of\nthe royal race which long ruled that country.\n\nAccording to other accounts, however, Skadi eventually married Uller,\nthe winter-god. As Skadi was a skillful markswoman, she is represented\nwith bow and arrow, and, as goddess of the chase, she is generally\naccompanied by one of the wolf-like Eskimo dogs so common in the North.\nSkadi was invoked by hunters and by winter travelers, whose sleighs\nshe guided over the snow and ice, thus helping them to reach their\ndestination in safety.\n\nSkadi\u2019s anger against the gods, who had slain her father, the storm\ngiant, is an emblem of the unbending rigidity of the ice-enveloped\nearth, which, softened at last by the frolicsome play of Loki (the heat\nlightning), smiles, and permits the embrace of Ni\u00f6rd (summer). His\nlove, however, cannot hold her for more than three months of the year\n(typified in the myth by nights), as she is always secretly longing for\nthe wintry storms and her wonted mountain amusements.\n\n[Sidenote: Worship of Ni\u00f6rd.]\n\nAs Ni\u00f6rd was supposed to bless the vessels passing in and out of port,\nhis temples were situated by the seashore; it was there that the oaths\nin his name were commonly sworn, and his health was drunk at every\nbanquet, where he was invariably named with his son Frey.\n\nAs all aquatic plants were supposed to belong to him, the marine sponge\nwas known in the North as \u201cNi\u00f6rd\u2019s glove,\u201d a name which was retained\nuntil lately, when the same plant has been popularly called the\n\u201cVirgin\u2019s hand.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nFREY.\n\n\nFrey, or Fro, as he was called in Germany, was the son of Ni\u00f6rd and\nNerthus, or of Ni\u00f6rd and Skadi, and was born in Vana-heim. He therefore\nbelonged to the race of the Vanas, the divinities of water and air, but\nwas warmly welcomed in Asgard when he came thither as hostage with his\nfather. As it was customary among the Northern nations to bestow some\nvaluable gift upon a child when he cut his first tooth, the \u00c6sir gave\nthe infant Frey the beautiful realm of Alf-heim or Fairyland, the home\nof all the Light Elves.\n\n \u201cAlf-heim the gods to Frey\n Gave in days of yore\n For a tooth gift.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: The god of fairyland.]\n\nHere Frey, the god of the golden sunshine and the warm summer showers,\ntook up his abode, charmed with the company of the elves and fairies,\nwho implicitly obeyed his every order, and at a sign from him\nflitted to and fro, doing all the good in their power, for they were\npre\u00ebminently beneficent spirits.\n\n[Illustration: FREY.]\n\nFrey received from the gods a marvelous sword (an emblem of the\nsunbeams), which had the power of fighting successfully, and of its own\naccord, as soon as it was drawn from its sheath. Because he carried\nthis glittering weapon, Frey has sometimes been confounded with the\nsword-god Tyr or Saxnot, although he wielded it principally against\nthe frost giants, whom he hated almost as much as did Thor.\n\n \u201cWith a short-shafted hammer fights conquering Thor;\n Frey\u2019s own sword but an ell long is made.\u201d\n\n VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nThe dwarfs from Svart-alfa-heim gave Frey the golden-bristled boar\nGullin-bursti (the golden-bristled), a personification of the sun. The\nradiant bristles of this animal were considered symbolical either of\nthe solar rays, of the golden grain, which at his bidding waved over\nthe harvest fields of Midgard, or of agriculture, for the boar (by\ntearing up the ground with his sharp tusk) was supposed to have first\ntaught mankind how to plow.\n\n \u201cThere was Frey, and sat\n On the gold-bristled boar, who first, they say,\n Plowed the brown earth, and made it green for Frey.\u201d\n\n LOVERS OF GUDRUN (William Morris).\n\nFrey sometimes rode astride of this marvelous boar, whose celerity was\nvery great, and at other times harnessed him to his golden chariot,\nwhich was said to contain the fruits and flowers which he lavishly\nscattered abroad over the face of the earth.\n\nFrey was, moreover, the proud possessor, not only of the dauntless\nsteed Blodug-hofi, which dashed through fire and water at his command,\nbut also of the magic ship Skidbladnir, a personification of the\nclouds. This vessel, navigating over land and sea, was always wafted\nalong by favorable winds, and was so elastic that, while it could\nassume large enough proportions to carry the gods, their steeds, and\nall their equipments, it could also be folded up like a napkin and\nthrust out of sight.\n\n \u201cIvaldi\u2019s sons\n Went in days of old\n Skidbladnir to form,\n Of ships the best,\n For the bright Frey,\n Ni\u00f6rd\u2019s benign son.\u201d\n\n LAY OF GRIMNIR (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nIt is related in one of the lays of the Edda that Frey once ventured\nto ascend Odin\u2019s throne Hlidskialf, and from this exalted seat cast a\nglance over all the wide earth. Gazing towards the frozen North, he saw\na beautiful young maiden enter the house of the frost giant Gymir, and\nas she raised her hand to lift the latch her radiant beauty illuminated\nsea and sky.\n\n[Sidenote: The wooing of Gerda.]\n\nA moment later, this lovely creature, whose name was Gerda, and who\nis considered as a personification of the flashing Northern lights,\nvanished within her father\u2019s house, and Frey pensively wended his\nway back to Alf-heim, his heart oppressed with longing to make this\nfair maiden his wife. Being deeply in love, he was melancholy and\nabsent-minded in the extreme, and began to behave so strangely that his\nfather, Ni\u00f6rd, became greatly alarmed about his health, and bade his\nfavorite servant, Skirnir, discover the cause of this sudden change.\nAfter much persuasion, Skirnir finally won from Frey an account of his\nascent of Hlidskialf, and of the fair vision he had seen. He confessed\nhis love and especially his utter despair, for as Gerda was the\ndaughter of Gymir and Angur-boda, and a relative of the murdered giant\nThiassi, he feared she would never view his suit with favor.\n\n \u201cIn Gymer\u2019s court I saw her move,\n The maid who fires my breast with love;\n Her snow-white arms and bosom fair\n Shone lovely, kindling sea and air.\n Dear is she to my wishes, more\n Than e\u2019er was maid to youth before;\n But gods and elves, I wot it well,\n Forbid that we together dwell.\u201d\n\n SKIRNER\u2019S LAY (Herbert\u2019s tr.).\n\nSkirnir, however, consolingly replied that he could see no reason\nwhy his master should take such a despondent view of the matter, and\nproposed to go and woo the maiden in his name, providing Frey would\nlend him his steed for the journey, and give him his glittering sword\nin reward.\n\nOverjoyed at the mere prospect of winning the beautiful Gerda, Frey\nhanded Skirnir the flashing sword, and bade him use his horse, ere he\nresumed his interrupted day-dream; for ever since he had fallen in love\nhe had frequently indulged in revery. In his absorption he did not even\nnotice that Skirnir was still hovering near him, and did not perceive\nhim cunningly steal the reflection of his face from the surface of\nthe brook near which he was seated, and imprison it in his drinking\nhorn, intending \u201cto pour it out in Gerda\u2019s cup, and by its beauty\nwin the heart of the giantess for the lord\u201d for whom he was about to\ngo a-wooing. Provided with this portrait, with eleven golden apples,\nand with the magic ring Draupnir, Skirnir now rode off to J\u00f6tun-heim,\nto fulfill his embassy. As soon as he came near Gymir\u2019s dwelling he\nheard the loud and persistent howling of his watch dogs, which were\npersonifications of the wintry winds. A shepherd, guarding his flock\nin the vicinity, told him, in answer to his inquiry, that it would be\nimpossible for him to approach the house, on account of the flaming\nbarrier which surrounded it; but Skirnir, knowing that Blodug-hofi\nwould dash through any fire, merely set spurs to his steed, and, riding\nup to the giant\u2019s door, soon found himself ushered into the presence of\nthe lovely Gerda.\n\nTo induce this fair maiden to lend a favorable ear to his master\u2019s\nproposals, Skirnir showed her the purloined portrait, and proffered the\ngolden apples and magic ring, which she haughtily refused to accept,\ndeclaring that her father had gold enough and to spare.\n\n \u201cI take not, I, that wondrous ring,\n Though it from Balder\u2019s pile you bring.\n Gold lack not I, in Gymer\u2019s bower;\n Enough for me my father\u2019s dower.\u201d\n\n SKIRNER\u2019S LAY (Herbert\u2019s tr.).\n\nIndignant at her scorn, Skirnir now threatened to use his magic sword\nto cut off her head; but as this threat did not in the least frighten\nthe maiden, and she calmly defied him, he had recourse to magic arts.\nCutting runes in his stick, he told her that unless she yielded ere the\nspell was ended, she would be condemned either to eternal celibacy, or\nto marry some hideous old frost giant whom she could never love.\n\nTerrified into submission by the frightful description he gave of her\ncheerless future in case she persisted in her refusal, Gerda finally\nconsented to become Frey\u2019s wife, and dismissed Skirnir, promising to\nmeet her future spouse on the ninth night, in the land of Buri, the\ngreen grove, where she would dispel his sadness and make him happy.\n\n \u201cBurri is hight the seat of love;\n Nine nights elapsed, in that known grove\n Shall brave Niorder\u2019s gallant boy\n From Gerda take the kiss of joy.\u201d\n\n SKIRNER\u2019S LAY (Herbert\u2019s tr.).\n\nDelighted with his success, Skirnir hurried back to Alf-heim, where\nFrey eagerly came to meet him, and insisted upon knowing the result of\nhis journey. When he learned that Gerda had consented to become his\nwife, his face grew radiant with joy; but when Skirnir further informed\nhim that he would have to wait nine nights ere he could behold his\npromised bride, he turned sadly away, declaring the time would appear\ninterminable.\n\n \u201cLong is one night, and longer twain;\n But how for three endure my pain?\n A month of rapture sooner flies\n Than half one night of wishful sighs.\u201d\n\n SKIRNER\u2019S LAY (Herbert\u2019s tr.).\n\nIn spite of this loverlike despondency, however, the time of waiting\ncame to an end, and Frey joyfully hastened to the green grove, where he\nmet Gerda, who became his happy wife, and proudly sat upon his throne\nbeside him.\n\n \u201cFrey to wife had Gerd;\n She was Gymir\u2019s daughter,\n From J\u00f6tuns sprung.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nAccording to some mythologists, Gerda is not a personification of the\naurora borealis, but of the earth, which, hard, cold, and unyielding,\nresists the spring-god\u2019s proffers of adornment and fruitfulness (the\napples and ring), defies the flashing sunbeams (Frey\u2019s sword), and only\nconsents to receive his kiss when it learns that it will else be doomed\nto perpetual barrenness, or given over entirely into the power of the\ngiants (ice and snow). The nine nights of waiting are typical of the\nnine winter months, at the end of which the earth becomes the bride of\nthe sun, in the groves where the trees are budding forth into leaf and\nblossom.\n\nFrey and Gerda, we are told, became the parents of a son called\nFiolnir, whose birth consoled Gerda for the loss of her brother Beli.\nThe latter had attacked Frey and had been slain by him, although the\nsun-god, deprived of his matchless sword, had been obliged to defend\nhimself with a stag horn which he hastily snatched from the wall of his\ndwelling.\n\nBesides the faithful Skirnir, Frey had two other attendants, a\nmarried couple, Beyggvir and Beyla, the personifications of mill\nrefuse and manure, which two ingredients, being used in agriculture\nfor fertilizing purposes, were therefore considered Frey\u2019s faithful\nservants, in spite of their unpleasing qualities.\n\n[Sidenote: The historical Frey.]\n\nSnorro-Sturleson, in his \u201cHeimskringla,\u201d or chronicle of the ancient\nkings of Norway, states that Frey was an historical personage who bore\nthe name of Ingvi-Frey, and ruled in Upsala after the death of the\nsemi-historical Odin and Ni\u00f6rd. Under his reign the people enjoyed such\nprosperity and peace that they declared their king must be a god. They\ntherefore began to invoke him as such, carrying their enthusiastic\nadmiration for him to such lengths that when he died the priests, not\ndaring to reveal the fact, laid him in a great mound instead of burning\nhis body, as had been customary until then. They then informed the\npeople that Frey--whose name was the Northern synonym for \u201cmaster\u201d--had\n\u201cgone into the mound,\u201d an expression which eventually became the\nNorthern phrase for death.\n\nOnly three years later the people, who had continued paying their taxes\nto the king by pouring the gold, silver, and copper coin into the mound\nby three different openings, discovered that Frey was dead. As their\npeace and prosperity had remained undisturbed, they decreed that his\ncorpse should never be burned, and thus inaugurated the custom of mound\nburial, which in due time supplanted the funeral pyre in many places.\nOne of the three mounds near Gamla Upsala still bears this god\u2019s name.\nHis statues were placed in the great temple there, and his name was\nduly mentioned in all solemn oaths, of which the usual formula was, \u201cSo\nhelp me Frey, Ni\u00f6rd, and the Almighty Asa\u201d (Odin).\n\n[Sidenote: Worship of Frey.]\n\nNo weapons were ever admitted in Frey\u2019s temples, the most celebrated\nof which were at Throndhjeim, and at Thvera in Iceland where oxen or\nhorses were offered up in sacrifice to him, and where a heavy gold\nring was dipped in the victim\u2019s blood ere the above-mentioned oath was\nsolemnly taken upon it.\n\nFrey\u2019s statues, like those of all the other Northern divinities, were\nroughly hewn blocks of wood, and the last of these sacred images seems\nto have been destroyed by Olaf the Saint, who forcibly converted many\nof his subjects. Besides being god of sunshine, fruitfulness, peace,\nand prosperity, Frey was considered the patron of horses and horsemen,\nand the deliverer of all captives.\n\n \u201cFrey is the best\n Of all the chiefs\n Among the gods.\n He causes not tears\n To maids or mothers:\n His desire is to loosen the fetters\n Of those enchained.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\n[Sidenote: The Yule feast.]\n\nOne month of every year, the Yule month, or Thor\u2019s month, was\nconsidered sacred to Frey as well as to Thor, and began on the longest\nnight of the year, which bore the name of Mother Night. This month was\na time of feasting and rejoicing, for it heralded the return of the\nsun. The festival was called Yule (wheel) because the sun was supposed\nto resemble a wheel rapidly revolving across the sky. This resemblance\ngave rise to a singular custom in England, Germany, and along the\nbanks of the Moselle. Until within late years, the people were wont to\nassemble yearly upon a mountain, to set fire to a huge wooden wheel,\ntwined with straw, which, all ablaze, was then sent rolling down the\nhill and plunged with a hiss into the water.\n\n \u201cSome others get a rotten Wheele, all worn and cast aside,\n Which, covered round about with strawe and tow, they closely hide;\n And caryed to some mountaines top, being all with fire light,\n They hurle it down with violence, when darke appears the night;\n Resembling much the sunne, that from the Heavens down should fal,\n A strange and monstrous sight it seemes, and fearful to them all;\n But they suppose their mischiefs are all likewise throwne to hell,\n And that, from harmes and dangers now, in safetie here they dwell.\u201d\n\n NAOGEORGUS.\n\nAll the Northern races considered the Yule feast the greatest of the\nyear, and were wont to celebrate it with dance, feasting, and drinking,\neach god being pledged by name. The missionaries, perceiving the\nextreme popularity of this feast, thought best to encourage drinking to\nthe health of the Lord and his twelve apostles when they first began to\nconvert the Northern heathens. In honor of Frey, boar\u2019s flesh was eaten\non this occasion. Crowned with laurel and rosemary, the animal\u2019s head\nwas brought into the banquet hall with much ceremony--a custom long\nafter observed at Oxford, where the following lines were sung:\n\n \u201cCaput apri defero\n Reddens laude Domino.\n The boar\u2019s head in hand bring I,\n With garlands gay and rosemary.\n I pray you all sing merrily\n Qui estis in convivio.\u201d\n\n QUEEN\u2019S COLLEGE CAROL, OXFORD.\n\nThe father of the family then laid his hand on this dish, which was\ncalled \u201cthe boar of atonement,\u201d swearing he would be faithful to his\nfamily, and would fulfill all his obligations--an example which was\nfollowed by all present, from the highest to the lowest. This dish\ncould be carved only by a man of unblemished reputation and tried\ncourage, for the boar\u2019s head was a sacred emblem which was supposed\nto inspire every one with fear. For that reason a boar\u2019s head was\nfrequently used as ornament for the helmets of Northern kings and\nheroes whose bravery was unquestioned.\n\n[Sidenote: God of conjugal happiness.]\n\nAs Frey\u2019s name of Fro is phonetically the same as the word used in\nGerman for gladness, he was considered the patron of every joy, and was\ninvariably invoked by married couples who wished to live in harmony.\nThose who succeeded in doing so for a certain length of time were\npublicly rewarded by the gift of a piece of boar\u2019s flesh, for which, in\nlater times, the English and Viennese substituted a flitch of bacon or\na ham.\n\n \u201cYou shall swear, by custom of confession,\n If ever you made nuptial transgression,\n Be you either married man or wife:\n If you have brawls or contentious strife;\n Or otherwise, at bed or at board,\n Offended each other in deed or word;\n Or, since the parish clerk said Amen,\n You wish\u2019d yourselves unmarried again;\n Or, in a twelvemonth and a day\n Repented not in thought any way,\n But continued true in thought and desire\n As when you join\u2019d hands in the quire.\n If to these conditions, with all feare,\n Of your own accord you will freely sweare,\n A whole gammon of bacon you shall receive,\n And bear it hence with love and good leave:\n For this our custom at Dunmow well known--\n Though the pleasure be ours, the bacon\u2019s your own.\u201d\n\n BRAND\u2019S POPULAR ANTIQUITIES.\n\nAt Dunmow, England, and in Vienna, Austria, this custom was kept up\nvery long indeed, the ham or flitch of bacon being hung over the city\ngate, whence the successful candidate was expected to bring it down,\nafter he had satisfied the judges that he lived in peace with his\nwife, but was not under petticoat rule. It is said that in Vienna\nthis ham once remained for a long time unclaimed until at last a\nworthy burgher presented himself before the judges, bearing his wife\u2019s\nwritten affidavit that they had been married twelve years and had never\ndisagreed--a statement which was confirmed by all their neighbors. The\njudges, satisfied with the proofs laid before them, told the candidate\nthat the prize was his, and that he only need climb the ladder placed\nbeneath it and bring it down. Rejoicing at having secured such a fine\nham, the man obeyed; but as he was about to reach upwards, he noticed\nthat the ham, exposed to the noonday sun, was beginning to melt, and\nthat a drop of fat threatened to fall upon and stain his Sunday coat.\nHastily beating a retreat, he pulled off his coat, jocosely remarking\nthat his wife would scold him roundly were he to stain it, a confession\nwhich made the bystanders roar with laughter, and which cost him his\nham.\n\nAnother Yule-tide custom was the burning of a huge log, which had\nto last all night or it was considered of very bad omen indeed. The\ncharred remains of this log were carefully collected, and treasured up\nto set fire to the log of the following year.\n\n \u201cWith the last yeeres brand\n Light the new block, and\n For good successe in his spending,\n On your psaltries play,\n That sweet luck may\n Come while the log is a-tending.\u201d\n\n HESPERIDES (Herrick).\n\nThis festival was so popular in Scandinavia, where it was celebrated in\nJanuary, that King Olaf, seeing how dear it was to the Northern heart,\ntransferred most of its observances to Christmas day, thereby doing\nmuch to reconcile the ignorant people to their change of religion.\n\nAs god of peace and prosperity, Frey is supposed to have reappeared\nupon earth many times, and to have ruled the Swedes under the name\nof Ingvi-Frey, whence his descendants were called Inglings. He also\ngoverned the Danes under the name of Fridleef. In Denmark he is said to\nhave married the beautiful maiden Freygerda, whom he had rescued from\na dragon. By her he had a son named Frodi, who, in due time, succeeded\nhim as king.\n\nThis Frodi ruled Denmark in the days when there was \u201cpeace throughout\nall the world,\u201d that is to say, just at the time when Christ was born\nin Bethlehem of Judea; and because all his subjects lived in amity, he\nwas generally known as Peace Frodi.\n\n[Sidenote: How the sea became salt.]\n\nThis king once received from Hengi-kiaptr a pair of magic millstones,\ncalled Grotti, which were so ponderous that none of his servants nor\neven his strongest warriors could turn them. As Peace Frodi knew that\nthe mill was enchanted and would grind anything he wished, he was\nvery anxious indeed to set it to work, and, during a visit to Sweden,\nsaw and purchased as slaves the two giantesses Menia and Fenia, whose\npowerful muscles and frames had attracted his attention.\n\nOn his return home, Peace Frodi led these women to the mill, and bade\nthem turn the grindstones and grind out gold, peace, and prosperity--a\nwish which was immediately fulfilled. Cheerfully the women worked on,\nhour after hour, until the king\u2019s coffers were overflowing with gold\nand his land with prosperity and peace.\n\n \u201cLet us grind riches to Frothi!\n Let us grind him, happy\n In plenty of substance,\n On our gladdening Quern.\u201d\n\n GROTTA-SAVNGR (Longfellow\u2019s tr.).\n\nBut when Menia and Fenia would fain have rested awhile, the king, whose\ngreed had been excited, bade them work on. In spite of their cries and\nentreaties he forced them to labor hour after hour, allowing them only\nas much time to rest as was required for the singing of a verse in a\nsong, until, exasperated by his cruelty, the giantesses resolved to\nhave their revenge. Once while Frodi slept they changed their song, and\ngrimly began to grind an armed host, instead of prosperity and peace.\nBy their spells they induced the Viking Mysinger to land with his\ntroops, surprise the Danes, who were wrapped in slumber, and slay them\nall.\n\n \u201cAn army must come\n Hither forthwith,\n And burn the town\n For the prince.\u201d\n\n GROTTA-SAVNGR (Longfellow\u2019s tr.).\n\nThis Viking then placed the magic millstones Grotti and the two\nslaves on board his vessel, and bade the women grind for him, saying\nthat he wanted salt, as it was a very valuable staple of commerce\nat that time. The women obeyed; the millstones went round, grinding\nsalt in abundance; but the Viking, as cruel as Frodi, kept the women\npersistently at work, until they ground such an immense quantity of\nsalt that its weight sunk the ship and all on board.\n\nThe ponderous millstones sank straight down into the sea in the\nPentland Firth, or off the northwestern coast of Norway, making a\ndeep round hole. The waters, rushing into the vortex and gurgling in\nthe holes in the center of the stones, produced the great whirlpool,\nwhich is known as the Maelstrom. As for the salt, it soon melted; but\nsuch was the quantity ground by the giantesses that it tainted all the\nwaters of the sea, which have ever since been very salt indeed.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nFREYA.\n\n\nFreya, the fair Northern goddess of beauty and love, was the sister of\nFrey and the daughter of Ni\u00f6rd and Nerthus, or Skadi. She was the most\nbeautiful and best beloved of all the goddesses, and while in Germany\nshe was identified with Frigga, in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland\nshe was considered a separate divinity. Freya, having been born in\nVana-heim, was also known as Vanadis, the goddess of the Vanas, or as\nVanabride.\n\nAs soon as she reached Asgard, the gods were so charmed by her beauty\nand grace that they bestowed upon her the realm of Folkvang and the\ngreat hall Sessrymnir (the roomy-seated), where they assured her she\ncould easily accommodate all her guests.\n\n \u201cFolkvang \u2019tis called,\n Where Freyja has right\n To dispose of the hall-seats.\n Every day of the slain\n She chooses the half,\n And leaves half to Odin.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\n[Sidenote: Queen of the Valkyrs.]\n\nAlthough goddess of love, Freya was not soft and pleasure-loving only,\nfor the ancient Northern races said that she had very martial tastes,\nand that as Valfreya she often led Valkyrs down to the battlefields,\nchoosing and claiming one half the heroes slain. She was therefore\noften represented with corselet and helmet, shield and spear, only\nthe lower part of her body being clad in the usual flowing feminine\ngarb.\n\n[Illustration: FREYA.]\n\nFreya transported the chosen slain to Folkvang, where they were duly\nentertained, and where she also welcomed all pure maidens and faithful\nwives, that they might enjoy the company of their lovers and husbands\neven after death. The joys of her abode were so enticing to the heroic\nNorthern women that they often rushed into battle when their loved ones\nwere slain, hoping to meet with the same fate; or they fell upon their\nswords, or were voluntarily burned on the same funeral pyre as the\nbeloved remains.\n\nAs Freya was inclined to lend a favorable ear to lovers\u2019 prayers, she\nwas often invoked by them, and it was customary to indite love songs in\nher honor, which were sung on all festive occasions, her very name in\nGermany being used as the verb \u201cto woo.\u201d\n\n[Sidenote: Freya and Odur.]\n\nFreya, the golden-haired and blue-eyed goddess, was also, at times,\nconsidered a personification of the earth. She therefore married Odur,\na symbol of the summer sun, whom she dearly loved, and by whom she had\ntwo daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi, so beautiful that all things lovely\nand precious were called by their names.\n\nSo long as Odur lingered contentedly at her side, Freya was smiling and\nperfectly happy; but, alas! this god was a rover, and, wearying of his\nwife\u2019s company, he suddenly left home and wandered far out into the\nwide world. Freya, sad and forsaken, wept abundantly, and her tears\nfell down upon the hard rocks, which softened at their contact. We are\neven told that they trickled down to the very center of the stones,\nwhere they were transformed to drops of gold. The tears which fell into\nthe sea, however, were changed into translucent amber.\n\nWeary of her widowed condition, and longing to clasp her beloved in her\narms once more, Freya finally started out in search of him, passing\nthrough many lands, where she was called by different names, such as\nMardel, Horn, Gefn, Syr, Skialf, and Thrung, inquiring of all she met\nwhether her husband had passed that way, and shedding so many tears\nthat gold can be found in all parts of the earth.\n\n \u201cAnd Freya next came nigh, with golden tears;\n The loveliest Goddess she in Heaven, by all\n Most honor\u2019d after Frea, Odin\u2019s wife.\n Her long ago the wandering Oder took\n To mate, but left her to roam distant lands;\n Since then she seeks him, and weeps tears of gold.\n Names hath she many; Vanadis on earth\n They call her, Freya is her name in Heaven.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nFar away in the sunny South, under the flowering myrtle trees, Freya\nfound Odur at last, and her love being restored to her, she grew happy\nand smiling once more, and as radiant as a bride. It is perhaps because\nFreya found her husband beneath the flowering myrtle, that Northern\nbrides, to this day, wear myrtle in preference to the conventional\norange wreath.\n\nHand in hand, Odur and Freya now gently wended their way home once\nmore, and in the light of their happiness the grass grew green, the\nflowers bloomed, and the birds sang, for all Nature sympathized as\nheartily with Freya\u2019s joy as it had mourned with her when she was in\nsorrow.\n\n \u201cOut of the morning land,\n Over the snowdrifts,\n Beautiful Freya came\n Tripping to Scoring.\n White were the moorlands,\n And frozen before her;\n Green were the moorlands,\n And blooming behind her.\n Out of her gold locks\n Shaking the spring flowers,\n Out of her garments\n Shaking the south wind,\n Around in the birches\n Awaking the throstles,\n And making chaste housewives all\n Long for their heroes home,\n Loving and love-giving,\n Came she to Scoring.\u201d\n\n THE LONGBEARDS\u2019 SAGA (Charles Kingsley).\n\nThe prettiest plants and flowers in the North were called Freya\u2019s\nhair or Freya\u2019s eye dew, while the butterfly was called Freya\u2019s hen.\nThis goddess was also supposed to have a special affection for the\nfairies, whom she loved to watch dancing in the moonbeams, and for whom\nshe reserved her daintiest flowers and sweetest honey. Odur, Freya\u2019s\nhusband, besides being considered a personification of the sun, was\nalso regarded as an emblem of passion, or of the intoxicating pleasures\nof love; so the ancients declared that it was no wonder his wife could\nnot be happy without him.\n\nAs goddess of beauty, Freya was very fond of the toilet, of glittering\nadornments, and of precious jewels. One day, while she was in\nSvart-alfa-heim, the underground kingdom, she saw four dwarfs carefully\nfashioning the most wonderful necklace she had ever seen. Almost\nbeside herself with longing to possess this treasure, which was called\nBrisinga-men, and was an emblem of the stars, or of the fruitfulness\nof the earth, Freya implored the dwarfs to give it to her; but they\nobstinately refused to do so unless she would promise to grant them\nher favor. Having secured the necklace at this price, Freya hastened\nto put it on, and its beauty so enhanced her charms that the goddess\nwore it night and day, and only occasionally could be persuaded to loan\nit to the other divinities. Thor, however, wore this necklace when he\npersonated Freya in J\u00f6tun-heim, and Loki coveted and would have stolen\nit, had it not been for the watchfulness of Heimdall.\n\nFreya was also the proud possessor of a falcon garb, or falcon plumes,\nwhich enabled the wearer to flit through the air like a bird; and this\ngarment was so invaluable that it was twice borrowed by Loki, and was\nused by Freya herself when in search of the missing Odur.\n\n \u201cFreya one day\n Falcon wings took, and through space hied away;\n Northward and southward she sought her\n Dearly-loved Odur.\u201d\n\n FRIDTHIOF\u2019S SAGA, TEGN\u00c9R (Stephens\u2019s tr.).\n\nAs Freya was also considered goddess of fecundity, she was sometimes\nrepresented as riding about with her brother Frey in the chariot drawn\nby the golden-bristled boar, scattering, with lavish hands, fruits and\nflowers to gladden the hearts of all mankind. She also had a chariot\nof her own, however, in which she generally traveled, which was drawn\nby cats, her favorite animals, the emblems of caressing fondness and\nsensuality, or the personifications of fecundity.\n\n \u201cThen came dark-bearded Ni\u00f6rd, and after him\n Freyia, thin robed, about her ankles slim\n The gray cats playing.\u201d\n\n LOVERS OF GUDRUN (William Morris).\n\nFrey and Freya were held in such high honor throughout the North\nthat their names, in modified forms, are still used for \u201cmaster\u201d\nand \u201cmistress,\u201d and one day of the week is called Freya\u2019s day, or\nFriday, even by the English-speaking race. Freya\u2019s temples were very\nnumerous indeed, and were long maintained by her votaries, the last in\nMagdeburg, Germany, being destroyed by order of Charlemagne.\n\n[Sidenote: Story of Ottar and Angantyr.]\n\nThe Northern people were wont to invoke her not only for success\nin love, prosperity, and increase, but also at times for aid and\nprotection. This she vouchsafed to all who served her truly, as is\nproved by the story of Ottar and Angantyr, two men who, after disputing\nfor some time concerning their rights to a certain piece of property,\nlaid their quarrel before the Thing. In that popular assembly it was\nsoon decreed that the man who could prove that he had the longest line\nof noble ancestors would be the one to win, and a special day was\nappointed to hear the genealogy of each claimant.\n\n[Illustration: THE WITCHES\u2019 DANCE (VALPURGISNACHT)--Von Kreling.]\n\nOttar, unable to remember the names of more than a few of his\nprogenitors, offered up sacrifices to Freya, entreating her aid. The\ngoddess graciously heard his prayer, appeared before him, changed\nhim into a boar, and rode off upon his back to the dwelling of the\nsorceress Hyndla, the most renowned witch of the day. By threats and\nentreaties, Freya compelled this old woman to trace Ottar\u2019s genealogy\nback to Odin, naming every individual in turn, and giving a synopsis\nof his achievements. Then, fearing lest her votary\u2019s memory should\nprove treacherous, Freya further compelled Hyndla to brew a potion of\nremembrance, which she gave him to drink.\n\n \u201cHe shall drink\n Delicious draughts.\n All the gods I pray\n To favor Ottar.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nThus prepared, Ottar presented himself before the Thing on the\nappointed day, glibly recited his pedigree, and by naming many more\nancestors than Angantyr could recollect, obtained possession of the\nproperty he coveted.\n\n \u201cA duty \u2019tis to act\n So that the young prince\n His paternal heritage may have\n After his kindred.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nFreya was so beautiful that all the gods, giants, and dwarfs longed for\nher love and in turn tried to secure her as wife. But Freya scorned\nthe ugly old giants and refused to belong even to Thrym, when urged\nto accept him by Loki and Thor. She was not so obdurate where the\ngods themselves were concerned, if the various mythologists are to be\nbelieved, for as the personification of the earth she is said to have\nmarried Odin, the sky, Frey, the fruitful rain, Odur, the sunshine,\netc., until it seems as if she deserved the accusation hurled against\nher by the arch-fiend Loki, of having loved and married all the gods in\nturn.\n\n[Sidenote: Worship of Freya.]\n\nIt was customary on solemn occasions to drink Freya\u2019s health with\nthat of the other gods, and when Christianity was introduced in the\nNorth this toast was transferred to the Virgin or to St. Gertrude;\nFreya herself, like all the heathen divinities, was declared a demon\nor witch, and banished to the mountain peaks of Norway, Sweden, or\nGermany, where the Brocken is pointed out as her special abode, and the\ngeneral trysting place of her demon train on Valpurgisnacht.\n\nCHORUS OF WITCHES.\n\n \u201cOn to the Brocken the witches are flocking--\n Merry meet--merry part--how they gallop and drive,\n Yellow stubble and stalk are rocking,\n And young green corn is merry alive,\n With the shapes and shadows swimming by.\n To the highest heights they fly,\n Where Sir Urian sits on high--\n Throughout and about,\n With clamor and shout,\n Drives the maddening rout,\n Over stock, over stone;\n Shriek, laughter, and moan,\n Before them are blown.\u201d\n\n GOETHE\u2019S FAUST (Anster\u2019s tr.).\n\nAs the swallow, cuckoo, and cat were held sacred to Freya in heathen\ntimes, these creatures were supposed to have demoniacal properties,\nand to this day witches are always depicted with coal-black cats close\nbeside them.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nULLER.\n\n\n[Sidenote: The god of winter.]\n\nUller, the winter-god, is the son of Sif, and the stepson of Thor. His\nfather, who is never mentioned in the Northern sagas, must have been\none of the dreaded frost giants, for Uller loved the cold and delighted\nin traveling all over the country on his broad snowshoes or glittering\nskates. This god also delighted in the chase, and pursued his game\nthrough the Northern forests, caring but little for ice and snow,\nagainst which he was well protected by the thick furs in which he was\nalways clad.\n\nAs god of hunting and archery, he is represented with a quiver full\nof arrows and a huge bow, and as the yew furnishes the best wood for\nthe manufacture of these weapons, it is said to have been his favorite\ntree. To have a supply of suitable wood ever at hand ready for use,\nUller took up his abode at Ydalir, the vale of yews, where it was\nalways very damp indeed.\n\n \u201cYdalir it is called,\n Where Ullr has\n Himself a dwelling made.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nAs winter-god, Uller, or Oller, as he was also called, was considered\nsecond only to Odin, whose place he usurped during his absence in the\nwinter months of the year, when he exercised full sway over Asgard\nand Midgard, and even, according to some authorities, took possession\nof Frigga, Odin\u2019s wife, as in the myth of Vili and Ve. But as Uller\nwas very parsimonious, and never bestowed any gifts upon mankind,\nthey gladly hailed the return of Odin, who drove his supplanter away,\nforcing him to take refuge either in the frozen North or on the tops of\nthe Alps, where, if we are to believe the poets, he had built a summer\nhouse into which he retreated until, knowing Odin had departed once\nmore, he again dared appear in the valleys.\n\nUller was also considered god of death, and was supposed to ride in the\nWild Hunt, and at times even to lead it. He is specially noted for his\nrapidity of motion, and as the snowshoes used in the Northern regions\nare sometimes made of bone, and turned up in front like the prow of a\nship, it was commonly reported that Uller had spoken magic runes over a\npiece of bone, changing it into a vessel, which bore him over land or\nsea at will.\n\nSnowshoes being shield-shaped, and the ice with which he yearly\nenveloped the earth acting also as a shield to protect it from harm\nduring the winter, won for Uller the surname of the shield-god, and as\nhe was thus designated he was specially invoked by all persons about to\nengage in a duel or in a desperate fight.\n\nIn Christian times, St. Hubert, the hunter, was made to take his place\nin popular worship, and also made patron of the first month of the\nyear, which was dedicated to him, and began on November 22d, as the sun\npassed through the constellation of Sagittarius, the bowman.\n\nIn Anglo-Saxon, Uller was known as Vulder; but in some parts of Germany\nhe was called Holler and considered the husband of the fair goddess\nHolda, whose fields he covered with a thick mantle of snow, to make\nthem more fruitful when the spring came.\n\nBy the Scandinavians, Uller, god of winter, was said to have married\nSkadi, Ni\u00f6rd\u2019s divorced wife, the female personification of winter and\ncold, and their tastes were so very congenial that they never quarreled\nin the least.\n\n[Sidenote: Worship of Uller.]\n\nNumerous temples were dedicated to this god in the North, and on his\naltars, as well as on those of all the other gods, lay a sacred ring\nupon which oaths were sworn. This ring was said to have the power of\nshrinking so violently as to sever the finger of any premeditated\nperjurer. The people visited Uller\u2019s shrine, especially during the\nmonths of November and December, to entreat him to send a thick\ncovering of snow all over their lands, as earnest of a good harvest;\nand as he was supposed to send out the glorious flashes of light, the\naurora borealis, which illumine the Northern sky during its long night,\nhe was considered very nearly akin to Balder, the personification of\nlight.\n\nAccording to other authorities, Uller was considered Balder\u2019s special\nfriend, principally because he too spent part of the year in the dismal\ndepths of Nifl-heim, with Hel, the goddess of death. Uller was supposed\nto endure a yearly banishment thither, during the summer months, when\nhe was forced to resign his sway over the earth to Odin, the summer\ngod, and there Balder came to join him at Midsummer, the date of his\ndisappearance from Asgard, for then the days began to grow shorter, and\nthe rule of light (Balder) gradually yielded to the ever encroaching\npower of darkness (Hodur).\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nFORSETI.\n\n\n[Sidenote: God of justice and truth.]\n\nSon of Balder, god of light, and of Nanna, goddess of immaculate\npurity, Forseti was the wisest, most eloquent, and most gentle of all\nthe gods. No sooner had his presence been made known in Asgard than the\ngods awarded him a seat in the council hall, decreed that he should be\npatron of justice and righteousness, and gave him as abode the radiant\npalace Glitnir. This dwelling had a silver roof, supported on pillars\nof gold, and shone so brightly that it could be seen from a great\ndistance.\n\n \u201cGlitner is the tenth;\n It is on gold sustained,\n And also with silver decked.\n There Forseti dwells\n Throughout all time,\n And every strife allays.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nHere, upon an exalted throne, Forseti, the lawgiver, sat day after\nday, settling the differences of gods and men, patiently listening to\nboth sides of every question, and finally pronouncing a sentence which\nwas so very equitable that none ever found fault with his decrees.\nSuch were this god\u2019s eloquence and his power of persuasion that he\nalways succeeded in touching his hearers\u2019 hearts, and never failed to\nreconcile even the most bitter foes. All who left his presence were\nthereafter sure to live in peace, for none dared break a vow once made\nto him, lest they should incur his just anger and immediately fall down\ndead.\n\n \u201cForsete, Balder\u2019s high-born son,\n Hath heard mine oath;\n Strike dead, Forset\u2019, if e\u2019er I\u2019m won\n To break my troth.\u201d\n\n VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nAs god of justice and eternal law, Forseti was supposed to preside over\nevery judicial assembly, was invariably appealed to by all who were\nabout to undergo a trial, and it was said that he rarely failed to help\nthe deserving.\n\n[Sidenote: The story of Heligoland.]\n\nOn one occasion the Frisians selected twelve of their wisest men, the\nAsegeir, or elders, and bade them collect all the laws of the various\nfamilies and tribes composing their nation, to compile from them a code\nwhich should enable them to have uniform laws throughout all the land,\nand to render justice more easily. The elders, having painstakingly\nfinished their task of collecting this miscellaneous information,\nembarked upon a small vessel, to seek some secluded spot where they\nmight hold their deliberations in peace. But no sooner had they pushed\naway from shore than a tempest arose, driving their vessel far out to\nsea and whirling it around, until they entirely lost their bearings. In\ntheir distress the twelve jurists called upon Forseti, begging him to\nhelp them reach land once more, and this prayer was scarcely ended when\nthey perceived, to their utter surprise, that the vessel contained a\nthirteenth passenger.\n\nSeizing the rudder, the newcomer silently brought the vessel around,\nsteered it towards the place where the waves dashed highest, and in\nan incredibly short space of time brought them to an island, where\nhe motioned to them to disembark. In awe-struck silence the twelve\nmen obeyed; but their surprise was further excited when they saw the\nstranger fling his battle ax at a distance, and a limpid spring gush\nforth from the spot on the greensward where it had struck. Imitating\nthe stranger, all drank of this water without saying a word; then they\nsat down in a circle, marveling because the newcomer resembled each one\nof them in some particular, but was still very different from them all.\n\nSuddenly the silence was broken, and the stranger began to speak in low\ntones, which grew firmer and louder, as he clearly expounded a code\nof laws which combined all the good points of the various existing\nregulations. This speech being finished, he vanished as suddenly and\nmysteriously as he had appeared, and the twelve jurists, recovering the\npower of speech, simultaneously exclaimed that Forseti himself had been\namong them, and had drawn up the code of laws by which the Frisians\nwould henceforth be ruled. In commemoration of the god\u2019s appearance\nthey declared that the island upon which they stood was holy, and laid\na solemn curse upon any who might dare to desecrate it by quarrel or\nbloodshed. This island, known as Forseti\u2019s land or Heligoland (holy\nland), was greatly respected by all the Northern nations, and even the\nboldest vikings refrained from raiding its shores, lest they should\nsuffer shipwreck or shameful death in punishment for this crime.\n\nSolemn judicial assemblies were frequently held upon this sacred isle,\nthe jurists always drawing water and drinking it in silence, in memory\nof Forseti\u2019s visit there. The waters of his spring were, moreover,\nconsidered so holy that all who drank of them were pronounced sacred,\nand even the cattle who had tasted of them could not be slain. As\nForseti was said to hold his assizes in spring, summer, and autumn,\nbut never in winter, it soon became customary, in all the Northern\ncountries, to dispense justice in those seasons, the people declaring\nthat it was only when the light shone clearly in the heavens that right\ncould become apparent to all, and that it would be utterly impossible\nto render an equitable verdict during the dark winter season. Forseti\nis seldom mentioned except in connection with Balder. He apparently has\nno share whatever in the closing battle in which all the other gods\nplay such prominent parts.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nHEIMDALL.\n\n\nOdin was once walking along the seashore when he beheld nine beautiful\ngiantesses, the wave maidens, Gialp, Greip, Egia, Augeia, Ulfrun,\nAurgiafa, Sindur, Atla, and Iarnsaxa, sound asleep on the white sand.\nTo secure possession of these charming girls was not much trouble for\nthe god of the sky, who married all nine of them at once, and was very\nhappy indeed when they simultaneously bore him a son called Heimdall.\n\n \u201cBorn was I of mothers nine,\n Son I am of sisters nine.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nThe nine mothers now proceeded to nourish this babe on the strength\nof the earth, the moisture of the sea, and the heat of the sun, which\nsingular diet proved so strengthening that the new god acquired his\nfull growth in a remarkably short space of time, and hastened to join\nhis father in Asgard. There he found the gods proudly contemplating the\nrainbow bridge Bifr\u00f6st, which they had just constructed out of fire,\nwater, and air, which three materials can still plainly be seen in its\nlong arch, where glow the three primary colors: the red representing\nthe fire, the blue the air, and the green the cool depths of the sea.\n\n[Sidenote: Guardian of the rainbow.]\n\nFearing lest their enemies, the frost giants, should make their way\nover this bridge, which, connecting heaven and earth, ended under the\nshade of the mighty world tree Yggdrasil, close beside the fountain\nwhere Mimir kept guard, the gods bade the white-clad Heimdall watch it\nnight and day.\n\n \u201cBifr\u00f6st i\u2019 th\u2019 east shone forth in brightest green;\n On its top, in snow-white sheen,\n Heimdal at his post was seen.\u201d\n\n OEHLENSCHL\u00c4GER (Pigott\u2019s tr.).\n\nTo enable their watchman to detect the approach of any enemy from afar,\nthe assembled gods gifted him with very keen senses, for he is said to\nhave been able to hear the grass grow on the hillside, and the wool on\nthe sheep\u2019s back, to see plainly one hundred miles off by night as well\nas by day, and to have required less sleep than a bird.\n\n \u201c\u2019Mongst shivering giants wider known\n Than him who sits unmoved on high,\n The guard of heaven, with sleepless eye.\u201d\n\n LAY OF SKIRNER (Herbert\u2019s tr.).\n\nHeimdall was further provided with a flashing sword and a marvelous\ntrumpet, called Giallar-horn, which the gods bade him blow whenever he\nsaw their enemies draw near, declaring that its sound would rouse all\ncreatures in heaven, earth, and Nifl-heim; would announce that the last\nday had come and that the great battle was about to be fought.\n\n \u201cTo battle the gods are called\n By the ancient\n Gjallar-horn.\n Loud blows Heimdall,\n His sound is in the air.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nTo keep this instrument, which was a symbol of the moon crescent, ever\nat hand, Heimdall either hung it on a branch of Yggdrasil above his\nhead or sank it in the waters of Mimir\u2019s well, where it lay side by\nside with Odin\u2019s eye, which was an emblem of the moon at its full.\n\nHeimdall\u2019s palace, called Himinbiorg, was placed on the highest\npoint of the bridge, and here the gods often visited him to quaff the\ndelicious mead which he set before them.\n\n \u201c\u2019Tis Himminbjorg called\n Where Heimdal, they say,\n Hath dwelling and rule.\n There the gods\u2019 warder drinks,\n In peaceful old halls,\n Gladsome the good mead.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nHeimdall, always clad in resplendent white armor, was therefore called\nthe bright god, as well as the light, innocent, and graceful god, all\nwhich titles he fully deserved, for he was as good as beautiful, and\nall the gods loved him. Connected on his mothers\u2019 side with the sea, he\nwas sometimes counted among the Vanas; and as the ancient Northerners,\nand especially the Icelanders, to whom the surrounding sea appeared\nthe most important element, fancied that all things had risen out of\nit, they attributed to him a knowledge of all things and imagined him\nparticularly wise.\n\n \u201cThen said Heimdall,\n Of \u00c6sir the brightest--\n He well foresaw\n Like other Vanir.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nThis god was further distinguished by his golden teeth, which\nflashed when he smiled, and won for him the surname of Gullin-tani\n(golden-toothed). He was also the proud possessor of a swift,\ngolden-maned steed called Gull-top, which bore him to and fro over\nthe quivering rainbow bridge. This he crossed many times a day, but\nparticularly in the early morn, when he was considered a herald of the\nday and bore the name of Heim-dellinger.\n\n \u201cEarly up Bifr\u00f6st\n Ran Ulfrun\u2019s son,\n The mighty hornblower\n Of Himinbiorg.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: Loki and Freya.]\n\nOwing to his extreme acuteness of hearing, Heimdall was greatly\ndisturbed one night by hearing soft, catlike footsteps in the direction\nof Freya\u2019s palace, Folkvang. Gazing fixedly towards that side with his\neagle eyes, Heimdall soon perceived, in spite of the darkness, that\nthe sound was produced by Loki, who stealthily entered the palace as a\nfly, stole to Freya\u2019s bedside, and strove to purloin her shining golden\nnecklace Brisinga-men, the emblem of the fruitfulness of the earth.\n\nAs it happened, however, the goddess had turned in her sleep in such\na way that he could not possibly unclasp the necklace without awaking\nher. Loki stood hesitatingly by the bedside for a few moments, and then\nrapidly began to mutter the runes which enabled the gods to change\ntheir form at will. As he was doing this, Heimdall saw him shrivel up\nuntil he was changed to the size and form of a flea, when he crept\nunder the bedclothes and bit Freya\u2019s side, thus making her change her\nposition without really rousing her.\n\nThe clasp was now free, and Loki, cautiously unfastening it, secured\nthe coveted ornament, with which he proceeded to steal away. Heimdall\nimmediately started out in pursuit of the midnight thief, and drawing\nhis sword from its scabbard, was about to cut off his head when the\ngod suddenly transformed himself into a flickering blue flame. Quick\nas thought, Heimdall changed himself into a cloud and sent down a\ndeluge of rain to quench the fire; but Loki as promptly altered his\nform to that of a huge polar bear, and opened wide his jaws to swallow\nthe water. Heimdall, nothing daunted, then assumed the form of a bear\nalso, and fought fiercely with him; but the combat threatening to end\ndisastrously for Loki, he changed himself into a seal, and, Heimdall\nimitating him, a last struggle took place, at the end of which Loki,\nvanquished, was forced to give up the necklace, which was duly restored\nto Freya.\n\nIn this myth, Loki is an emblem of the drought, or of the baleful\neffects of the too ardent heat of the sun, which comes to rob the\nearth (Freya) of its most cherished ornament (Brisinga-men). Heimdall\nis a personification of the gentle rain and dew, which, after\nstruggling for a while with his foe the drought, manages to conquer him\nand force him to relinquish his prize.\n\n[Sidenote: Heimdall\u2019s names.]\n\nHeimdall has several other names, among which we find those of\nHallinskide and Irmin, for at times he takes Odin\u2019s place and is\nidentified with that god, as well as with the other sword-gods, Er,\nHeru, Cheru, and Tyr, who are all noted for their shining weapons.\nHe, however, is most generally known as warder of the rainbow, god of\nheaven, and of the fruitful rains and dews which bring refreshment to\nthe earth.\n\nThis god also shared with Bragi the honor of welcoming heroes to\nValhalla, and, under the name of Riger, was considered the ancestor of\nthe various classes which compose the human race, as is set forth in\nthe following myth:\n\n \u201cSacred children,\n Great and small,\n Sons of Heimdall!\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: The story of Riger.]\n\nOne day Heimdall left his place in Asgard to wander down upon the earth\nas the gods were wont to do. He had not gone very far ere he came to\na poor hut on the seashore, where he found Ai (great grandfather) and\nEdda (great grandmother), a poor but worthy couple, who hospitably\ninvited him to share their meager meal of porridge. Heimdall, who gave\nhis name as Riger, gladly accepted this invitation, and remained with\nthem three whole days, teaching them many things. At the end of that\ntime he left them to resume his journey. Some time after his visit,\nEdda bore a dark-skinned, thickset male child, whom she called Thrall.\n\nThrall soon showed uncommon physical strength and a great aptitude for\nall heavy work; and having attained marriageable age, he took to wife\nThyr, a heavily built girl with sunburnt hands and flat feet, who\nlabored early and late, and bore him many children, from whom all the\nNorthern serfs or thralls are descended.\n\n \u201cThey had children,\n Lived and were happy;\n\n * * * * *\n\n They laid fences,\n Enriched the plow-land,\n Tended swine,\n Herded goats,\n Dug peat.\u201d\n\n RIGSM\u00c1L (Du Chaillu\u2019s version).\n\nRiger, in the mean while, had pursued his journey, and leaving the\nbarren seacoast had pushed inland, where ere long he came to cultivated\nfields and a thrifty farmhouse. He entered, and found Afi (grandfather)\nand Amma (grandmother), who hospitably invited him to sit down and\nshare their plain but bountiful fare.\n\nRiger accepted this invitation also, remained three days with them,\nand imparted all manner of useful knowledge to his hosts. After his\ndeparture from their house, Amma gave birth to a blue-eyed sturdy boy,\nwhom she called Karl. He soon revealed great skill in all agricultural\npursuits, and married a buxom and thrifty wife named Snor, who bore him\nmany children, from whom all husbandmen are descended.\n\n \u201cHe did grow\n And thrive well;\n He broke oxen,\n Made plows;\n Timbered houses,\n Made barns,\n Made carts,\n And drove the plow.\u201d\n\n RIGSM\u00c1L (Du Chaillu\u2019s version).\n\nAfter leaving the house of this second couple, Riger went on until he\ncame to a hill, upon which a stately castle was perched, and here he\nwas received by Fadir (father) and Modir (mother), who, delicately\nnurtured and luxuriously clad, received him cordially, and set before\nhim dainty meats and rich wines.\n\nRiger tarried three days with them ere he returned to Himinbiorg to\nresume his post as guardian of the Asa-bridge; and the lady of the\ncastle bore a handsome, slenderly built little son, whom she called\nJarl. This child early showed a great taste for the hunt and all\nmanner of martial exercises, learned to understand runes, and lived\nto do great deeds of valor which brought added glory to his name and\nrace. Having attained manhood, Jarl married Erna, an aristocratic,\nslender-waisted maiden, who ruled his household wisely and bore him\nmany children, all born to rule, the youngest of which, Konur, became\nthe first king of Denmark according to this myth, which is illustrative\nof the marked sense of classes among the Northern races.\n\n \u201cUp grew\n The sons of Jarl;\n They brake horses,\n Bent shields,\n Smoothed shafts,\n Shook ash spears.\n But Kon, the young,\n Knew runes,\n Everlasting runes\n And life runes.\u201d\n\n RIGSM\u00c1L (Du Chaillu\u2019s version).\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nHERMOD.\n\n\nAnother of Odin\u2019s sons, and his special attendant, was Hermod, a bright\nand beautiful young god, who was gifted with such great rapidity of\nmotion that he was always designated as the swift or nimble god.\n\n \u201cBut there was one, the first of all the gods\n For speed, and Hermod was his name in Heaven;\n Most fleet he was.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nAs Hermod was so remarkably quick the gods usually employed him as\ntheir messenger, and at a mere sign from Odin he was always ready to\nspeed to any part of the world. As a special mark of favor, the king\nof gods gave him a magnificent corselet and helmet, which he often\ndonned when he took part in war, and sometimes Odin intrusted to his\ncare the precious spear Gungnir, bidding him cast it over the heads of\ncombatants about to engage in battle, and thus kindle their ardor into\nmurderous fury.\n\n \u201cLet us Odin pray\n Into our minds to enter;\n He gives and grants\n Gold to the deserving.\n He gave to Hermod\n A helm and corselet.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nAs Hermod delighted in battle, he was often called \u201cthe valiant\nin combat,\u201d and confounded with the god of the universe, Irmin;\nhe sometimes accompanied the Valkyrs on their ride to earth, and\nfrequently escorted the warriors to Valhalla, whence he was considered\nthe leader of the heroic dead.\n\n \u201cTo him spake Hermoder and Brage:\n \u2018We meet thee and greet thee from all,\n To the gods thou art known by thy valor,\n And they bid thee a guest to their hall.\u2019\u201d\n\n OWEN MEREDITH.\n\nHermod\u2019s distinctive attribute, besides his corselet and helmet, was\na wand or staff called Gambantein, the emblem of his office, which he\ncarried with him wherever he went.\n\n[Sidenote: Hermod and the soothsayer.]\n\nOnce, oppressed by nameless fears for the future, Odin, seeing that\nthe Norns would not answer his questions, bade Hermod don his armor,\nsaddle Sleipnir, which he alone was allowed to ride, and hasten off to\nthe land of the Finns. This people, living in the frozen regions of the\npole, were supposed to have great occult powers, and to be able to call\nup the cold storms which swept down from the North, bringing plenty of\nice and snow in their train.\n\nThe most noted among all these conjuring Finns was Rossthiof (the horse\nthief), who was wont to entice travelers into his realm by magic arts,\nonly to rob and slay them; but although he could predict the future, he\nwas always very reluctant indeed to do so.\n\nHermod, \u201cthe swift,\u201d had no sooner received Allfather\u2019s directions than\nhe started out, riding rapidly northward, and brandishing, instead of\nhis own wand, Odin\u2019s runic staff, which had the power of dispelling\nall the obstacles that Rossthiof conjured up to hinder his advance.\nIn spite, therefore, of phantom-like monsters and of invisible snares\nand pitfalls, Hermod safely reached the conjurer\u2019s abode, and when the\ngiant began to attack him, soon mastered him, bound him hand and foot,\nand declared he would set him free only if he promised to reveal all\nthat he wished to know.\n\nRossthiof, seeing there was no hope of escape, pledged himself to do\nall the god wished, and as soon as he was free began to mutter terrible\nincantations, at the mere sound of which the sun hid behind the clouds,\nthe earth trembled and quivered, and the storm winds howled like a pack\nof hungry wolves.\n\nPointing to the horizon, the conjurer now bade Hermod look, and the\nswift god saw a great stream of blood redden all the ground. While\nhe was gazing wonderingly at this stream, a beautiful woman suddenly\nappeared, and a moment later a little boy stood beside her. To the\ngod\u2019s amazement, this child grew with such marvelous rapidity that he\nsoon attained his full growth, and then only did Hermod notice that he\nfiercely brandished a bow and arrows.\n\nAs Hermod was gazing fixedly upon this vision, Rossthiof began to\nspeak, and declared that the stream of blood portended the murder of\none of Odin\u2019s sons, but that if the father of the gods wooed and won\nRinda, in the land of the Ruthenes (Russia), she would bear him a son\nwho would attain his full growth in a few hours and would soon avenge\nhis brother\u2019s death.\n\n \u201cRind a son shall bear,\n In the western halls:\n He shall slay Odin\u2019s son,\n When one night old.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nSatisfied with this prophecy, Hermod returned to Asgard, where he\nreported all he had seen and heard to Odin. The father of the gods thus\ndefinitely ascertained that he was doomed to lose a son by a violent\ndeath. He soon consoled himself, however, by the thought that another\nof his descendants would avenge the murder and thereby obtain all the\nsatisfaction which a true Northerner ever required.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nVIDAR.\n\n\nOdin once saw and fell in love with the beautiful giantess Grid, who\ndwelt in a cave in the desert, and, wooing her, prevailed upon her to\nbecome his wife. The offspring of this union between Odin (mind) and\nGrid (matter) was a son as strong as taciturn, named Vidar, whom the\nancients considered a personification of the primeval forest or of the\nimperishable forces of Nature.\n\nAs the gods, through Heimdall, were intimately connected with the\nsea, they were also bound by close ties to the forests and Nature in\ngeneral by Vidar, surnamed \u201cthe silent,\u201d who was destined to survive\ntheir destruction and rule over the regenerated earth. This god had his\nhabitation in Landvidi (the wide land), a palace decorated with green\nboughs and fresh flowers, situated in the midst of an impenetrable\nprimeval forest where reigned the deep silence and solitude which he\nloved.\n\n \u201cGrown over with shrubs\n And with high grass\n Is Vidar\u2019s wide land.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nThis old Scandinavian conception of the silent Vidar is very grand and\npoetical indeed, and was inspired by the rugged Northern scenery. \u201cWho\nhas ever wandered through such forests, in a length of many miles, in a\nboundless expanse, without a path, without a goal, amid their monstrous\nshadows, their sacred gloom, without being filled with deep reverence\nfor the sublime greatness of Nature above all human agency, without\nfeeling the grandeur of the idea which forms the basis of Vidar\u2019s\nessence?\u201d\n\n[Sidenote: Vidar\u2019s shoe.]\n\nVidar was tall, well made, and handsome, had a broad-bladed sword, and\nbesides his armor wore a great iron or leather shoe. According to some\nmythologists, he owed this peculiar footgear to his mother Grid, who,\nknowing that he would be called upon to fight against fire on the last\nday, thought it would protect him from all injury, as her iron gauntlet\nhad shielded Thor in his encounter with Geirrod. But other authorities\nstate that this shoe was made of the leather scraps which Northern\ncobblers had either given or thrown away. As it was very important that\nthe shoe should be large and strong enough to resist the Fenris wolf\u2019s\nsharp teeth at the last day, it became a matter of religious observance\namong Northern shoemakers to give away as many odds and ends of leather\nas possible.\n\n[Sidenote: The Norns\u2019 prophecy.]\n\nOne day, when Vidar had joined his peers in Valhalla, they welcomed\nhim gaily, for they all loved him and placed their reliance upon him,\nfor they knew he would use his great strength in their favor in time\nof need. But after he had quaffed the golden mead, Allfather bade him\naccompany him to the Urdar fountain, where the Norns were busy weaving\ntheir web. When questioned by Odin concerning his future and Vidar\u2019s\ndestiny, the three sisters answered oracularly each by the following\nshort sentences:\n\n\u201cEarly begun.\u201d\n\n\u201cFurther spun.\u201d\n\n\u201cOne day done.\u201d\n\nTo which their mother, Wyrd, the primitive goddess of fate, added:\n\u201cWith joy once more won.\u201d These mysterious answers would have remained\ntotally unintelligible to the gods, had she not gone on to explain that\ntime progresses, that all must change, but that even if the father\nfell in the last battle, his son Vidar would be his avenger, and would\nlive to rule over a regenerated world, after having conquered all his\nenemies.\n\n \u201cThere sits Odin\u2019s\n Son on the horse\u2019s back;\n He will avenge his father.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nAt Wyrd\u2019s words the leaves of the world tree began to flutter as if\nagitated by a breeze, the eagle on its topmost bough flapped its wings,\nand the serpent Nidhug for a moment suspended its work of destruction\nat the roots of the tree. Grid, joining the father and son, rejoiced\nwith Odin when she heard that their son was destined to survive the\nolder gods and to rule over the new heaven and earth.\n\n \u201cThere dwell Vidar and Vale\n In the gods\u2019 holy seats,\n When the fire of Surt is slaked.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\nVidar, however, said not a word, but slowly wended his way back to his\npalace Landvidi, in the heart of the primeval forest, where, sitting\ndown upon his throne, he pondered long about eternity, futurity, and\ninfinity. If he fathomed their secrets he never revealed them, for the\nancients averred that he was \u201cas silent as the grave\u201d--a silence which\nindicated that no man knows what awaits him in the life to come.\n\nVidar was not only a personification of the imperishability of Nature,\nbut he was also a symbol of resurrection and renewal, proving that new\nshoots and blossoms are always ready to spring forth to replace those\nwhich have fallen into decay.\n\nThe shoe he wore was to be his defense against the wolf Fenris, who,\nhaving destroyed Odin, would turn all his wrath upon him, and open wide\nhis terrible jaws to devour him. But the old Northerners declared that\nVidar would brace the foot thus protected against the monster\u2019s lower\njaw, and, seizing the upper, would struggle with him until he had rent\nhim to pieces.\n\nAs one shoe only is mentioned in the Vidar myths, some mythologists\nsuppose that he had but one leg, and was the personification of a\nwaterspout, which would suddenly rise on the last day to quench the\nwild fire personified by the terrible wolf Fenris.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nVALI.\n\n\n[Sidenote: The wooing of Rinda.]\n\nBilling, the king of the Ruthenes, was greatly dismayed when he heard\nthat a great force was about to invade his kingdom, for he was too\nold to fight as of yore, and his only child, a daughter named Rinda,\nalthough she was of marriageable age, obstinately refused to choose a\nhusband among her many suitors, and thus give her father the assistant\nhe so sorely needed.\n\nWhile Billing was musing disconsolately in his hall, a stranger\nsuddenly entered his palace. Looking up, the king beheld a middle-aged\nman wrapped in a wide cloak, with a broad-brimmed hat drawn down over\nhis forehead to conceal the fact that he had but one eye. The stranger\ncourteously inquired the cause of his evident depression, and as soon\nas he had learned it volunteered to command the army of the Ruthenes.\n\nHis services being joyfully accepted, Odin--for it was he--soon\nwon a signal victory for the aged king, and, returning in triumph,\nasked permission to woo his daughter Rinda to be his wife. Billing,\nhoping that his daughter would lend a favorable ear to this suitor,\nwho appeared very distinguished in spite of his years, immediately\nsignified his consent. So Odin, still unknown, presented himself before\nthe princess, who scornfully rejected his proposal, and rudely boxed\nhis ears when he attempted to kiss her.\n\nForced to withdraw, Odin nevertheless clung to his purpose to make\nRinda his wife, for he knew, thanks to Rossthiof\u2019s prophecy, that none\nbut she could bear the destined avenger of his murdered son. Assuming\nthe form of a smith, Odin therefore soon came back to Billing\u2019s\nhall, fashioned costly ornaments of silver and gold, and so artfully\nmultiplied these precious metals that the king joyfully acquiesced when\nhe inquired whether he might pay his addresses to the princess. The\nsmith Rosterus was, however, as summarily dismissed by Rinda as the\nsuccessful old general had been; but although his ear tingled with the\nforce of her blow, he was more determined than ever to make her his\nwife.\n\nA third time Odin now presented himself before the capricious fair one,\ndisguised this time as a dashing warrior, thinking a young soldier\nmight perchance touch the maiden\u2019s heart; but when he again attempted\nto kiss her, she pushed him back so suddenly that he stumbled and fell\nupon one knee.\n\n \u201cMany a fair maiden,\n When rightly known,\n Towards men is fickle:\n That I experienced,\n When that discreet maiden I\n Strove to win:\n Contumely of every kind\n That wily girl\n Heaped upon me;\n Nor of that damsel gained I aught.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nThis third insult so enraged Odin that he drew his magic rune stick out\nof his breast, pointed it at Rinda, and uttered such a terrible spell\nthat she fell back into the arms of her attendants rigid and apparently\nlifeless.\n\nWhen Rinda came to life again, the suitor had disappeared, but the king\ndiscovered with great dismay that she had entirely lost her senses\nand was melancholy mad. In vain all the physicians were summoned\nand all their simples tried; the maiden remained as passive and sad\nas before, and her distracted father was only too glad when an old\nwoman called Vecha, or Vak, appeared, offering to undertake the\ncure of the princess. The old woman, who was Odin in disguise, first\nprescribed a footbath for the patient; but as this did not appear to\nhave any very marked effect, she declared she would be forced to try\na severe treatment. This could only be administered if the patient\nwere intrusted to her exclusive care, securely bound so that she could\nnot offer the least resistance. Billing, anxious to save his child,\nconsented to all the strange attendant proposed; and when Odin had thus\ngained full power over Rinda, he compelled her to marry him, releasing\nher from bonds and spell only when she had faithfully promised to be\nhis wife.\n\n[Sidenote: Birth of Vali.]\n\nThe prophecy made by Rossthiof was duly fulfilled, for Rinda bore a son\nnamed Vali (Ali, Bous, or Beav), a personification of the lengthening\ndays, who grew with such marvelous rapidity, that in the course of a\nsingle day he attained his full stature. Without even taking time to\nwash his face or comb his hair, this young god hastened off to Asgard\nwith bow and arrow to avenge the death of Balder, god of light, by\nslaying his murderer, Hodur, the blind god of darkness.\n\n \u201cBut, see! th\u2019 avenger, Vali, come,\n Sprung from the west, in Rinda\u2019s womb,\n True son of Odin! one day\u2019s birth!\n He shall not stop nor stay on earth\n His locks to comb, his hands to lave,\n His frame to rest, should rest it crave,\n Until his mission be complete,\n And Baldur\u2019s death find vengeance meet.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nIn this myth, Rinda, a personification of the hard-frozen rind of the\nearth, resists the warm wooing of the sun, Odin, who vainly points out\nthat spring is the time for warlike exploits, and offers the adornments\nof golden summer. She only yields when, after a shower (the footbath),\na thaw set in. Conquered then by the sun\u2019s irresistible might, the\nearth yields to his embrace, is freed from the spell (ice) which made\nher hard and cold, and brings forth Vali the nourisher, or Bous the\npeasant, who emerges from his dark hut when the pleasant days have\ncome. The slaying of Hodur by Vali is therefore emblematical of \u201cthe\nbreaking forth of new light after wintry darkness.\u201d\n\nVali, who ranked as one of the twelve deities occupying seats in the\ngreat hall of Glads-heim, shared with his father the dwelling called\nValaskialf, and was destined, even before birth, to survive the last\nbattle and twilight of the gods, and to reign with Vidar over the\nregenerated earth.\n\n[Sidenote: Worship of Vali.]\n\nVali is god of eternal light, just as Vidar of imperishable matter;\nand as beams of light were often called arrows, he is always\nrepresented and worshiped as an archer. For that reason his month\nin Norwegian calendars is designated by the sign of the bow, and is\ncalled Lios-beri, the light-bringing. As it falls between the middle\nof January and of February, the early Christians dedicated this month\nto St. Valentine, who was also a skillful archer, and was said, like\nVali, to be the harbinger of brighter days, the awakener of tender\nsentiments, and the patron of all lovers.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nTHE NORNS.\n\n\nThe Northern goddesses of fate, who were called Norns, were in nowise\nsubject to the other gods, who could neither question nor influence\ntheir decrees. They were three sisters, probably descendants of the\ngiant Norvi, from whom sprang Nott (night). As soon as the Golden Age\nwas ended, and sin began to steal even into the heavenly homes of\nAsgard, the Norns made their appearance under the great ash Yggdrasil,\nand took up their abode near the Urdar fountain. According to some\nmythologists, their purpose in coming thus was to warn the gods of\nfuture evil, to bid them make good use of the present, and to teach\nthem wholesome lessons from the past.\n\nThese three sisters, whose names were Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, were\npersonifications of the past, present, and future. Their principal\noccupation was to weave the web of fate; daily to sprinkle the sacred\ntree with water from the Urdar fountain, and to put fresh clay around\nits roots, that it might remain fresh and ever green.\n\n \u201cThence come the maids\n Who much do know;\n Three from the hall\n Beneath the tree;\n One they named _Was_,\n And _Being_ next,\n The third _Shall be_.\u201d\n\n THE V\u00d6LUSP\u00c1 (Henderson\u2019s tr.).\n\nSome authorities further state that the Norns kept watch over the\ngolden apples which hung on the branches of the tree of life,\nexperience, and knowledge, allowing none but Idun to pick the fruit,\nwhich had the power of renewing the gods\u2019 youth.\n\nThe Norns also fed and tenderly cared for the two swans swimming over\nthe mirror-like surface of the Urdar fountain, and from this pair of\nbirds all the swans on earth are supposed to be descended. At times,\nit is said, the Norns themselves adopted the swan plumage to visit the\nearth, or sported like mermaids along the coast and in various lakes\nand rivers, appearing to mortals, from time to time, to foretell the\nfuture or give them valuable advice.\n\n[Sidenote: Their weaving.]\n\nThe Norns sometimes wove such large webs that one of the weavers stood\non a high mountain in the extreme east, while another waded far out\ninto the western sea. The threads of their woof resembled cords, and\nvaried greatly in hue, according to the nature of the events about to\noccur, and a black thread, tending from north to south, was invariably\nconsidered an omen of death. As these sisters flashed the shuttle to\nand fro, they chanted a solemn song. They seemed not to weave according\nto their own wishes, but blindly, as if reluctantly executing the\nwishes of Orlog, the eternal law of the universe, an older and superior\npower, who apparently had neither beginning nor end.\n\nTwo of the Norns, Urd and Verdandi, seemed very beneficent indeed,\nwhile the third relentlessly undid their work, and often, when it was\nnearly finished, tore it angrily to shreds, scattering the remnants\nto the winds of heaven. As personifications of time, the Norns were\nrepresented as sisters of different ages and characters, Urd (Wurd,\nweird) appearing very old and decrepit, continually looking backward,\nas if absorbed in contemplating past events and people; Verdandi, the\nsecond sister, young, active, and fearless, looked straight before\nher, while Skuld, the type of the future, was generally represented as\nclosely veiled, with head turned in the opposite direction from that\nwhere Urd was gazing, and holding a book or scroll which had not yet\nbeen opened or unrolled.\n\nThese Norns were daily visited by the gods, who loved to consult them;\nand even Odin himself frequently rode down to the Urdar fountain to\nbespeak their aid, for they generally answered all his questions,\nmaintaining silence only about his own fate and that of his fellow gods.\n\n \u201cRode he long and rode he fast.\n First beneath the great Life Tree,\n At the sacred Spring sought he\n Urdar, Norna of the Past;\n But her backward seeing eye\n Could no knowledge now supply.\n Across Verdandi\u2019s page there fell\n Dark shades that ever woes foretell;\n The shadows which \u2019round Asgard hung\n Their baleful darkness o\u2019er it flung;\n The secret was not written there\n Might save Valhal, the pure and fair.\n Last youngest of the sisters three,\n Skuld, Norna of Futurity,\n Implored to speak, stood silent by,--\n Averted was her tearful eye.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\n[Sidenote: Other guardian spirits.]\n\nBesides these three principal Norns there were many others, far less\nimportant, who seem to have been the guardian spirits of mankind, to\nwhom they frequently appeared, lavishing all manner of gifts upon their\nfavorites, and seldom failing to be present at births, marriages, and\ndeaths.\n\n \u201cOh, manifold is their kindred, and who shall tell them all?\n There are they that rule o\u2019er men folk, and the stars that\n rise and fall:\n\n * * * * *\n\n They love and withhold their helping, they hate and refrain the blow;\n They curse and they may not sunder, they bless and they shall not\n blend;\n They have fashioned the good and the evil, they abide the change\n and the end.\u201d\n\n SIGURD THE VOLSUNG (William Morris).\n\n[Sidenote: Story of Nornagesta.]\n\nOn one occasion the Norns wandered off to Denmark, and entered the\ndwelling of a nobleman just as his first child came into the world.\nEntering the apartment where the mother lay, the first Norn promised\nthat the child should be handsome and brave, and the second that he\nshould be prosperous and a great scald--predictions which filled the\nparents\u2019 hearts with joy and greatly surprised the neighbors, who,\ncrowding in to see the strangers, rudely pushed the third Norn off her\nchair.\n\nAngry at this insult, Skuld proudly rose and declared her sisters\u2019\ngifts would be of no avail, as she decreed that the child should live\nonly as long as the taper then burning near the bedside. These ominous\nwords filled the mother\u2019s heart with terror, and she tremblingly\nclasped her babe closer to her breast, for the taper was nearly burned\nout and its extinction could not be very far off. The eldest Norn,\nhowever, had no intention of seeing her prediction thus set at naught;\nbut as she could not force her sister to retract her words, she quickly\nseized the taper, put out the light, and giving the smoking stump to\nthe child\u2019s mother, bade her carefully treasure it, and never light it\nagain until her son was weary of life.\n\n \u201cIn the mansion it was night:\n The Norns came,\n Who should the prince\u2019s\n Life determine.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nThis child was called Nornagesta, in honor of the Norns, and grew up to\nbe as beautiful, brave, and talented as any mother could wish. When he\nwas old enough to comprehend the gravity of the trust, his mother told\nhim the story of the Norns\u2019 visit, and placed in his hands the candle\nend, which he treasured for many a year, placing it for safekeeping\ninside of the frame of his harp. When his parents were dead, Nornagesta\nwandered from place to place, taking part and distinguishing himself\nin every battle, singing his heroic lays wherever he went. As he was\nof an enthusiastic and poetic temperament, he did not soon become weary\nof life, and while the other heroes grew wrinkled and old, he remained\nyoung at heart and vigorous in frame. He therefore witnessed all the\ndeeds of the heroic ages, was the boon companion of all the ancient\nwarriors, and, after living three hundred years, saw the belief in the\nold heathen gods gradually supplanted by the teachings of Christian\nmissionaries. Finally Nornagesta came to the court of King Olaf\nTryggvesson, who, according to his usual custom, converted him almost\nby force, and made him receive baptism. Then, wishing to convince his\npeople that the time for superstition was past, the king forced the\naged scald to produce and light the taper which he had so carefully\nguarded for more than three centuries.\n\nIn spite of his recent conversion, Nornagesta anxiously watched the\nflame, and as it flickered and went out, he sank lifeless to the\nground, proving that, in spite of the baptism just received, he still\nbelieved the words of the Norns.\n\nIn the middle ages, and even later, the Norns figure in many a story or\nmyth, appearing as fairies or witches, as, for instance, in the tale of\n\u201cthe Sleeping Beauty,\u201d and in Shakespeare\u2019s tragedy of \u201cMacbeth.\u201d\n\n \u201c_1st Witch._ When shall we three meet again,\n In thunder, lightning, or in rain?\n\n _2d Witch._ When the hurlyburly\u2019s done,\n When the battle\u2019s lost and won:\n\n _3d Witch._ That will be ere the set of sun.\u201d\n\n MACBETH (Shakespeare).\n\n[Sidenote: The Vala.]\n\nSometimes the Norns bore the name of Vala, or prophetesses, for they\nhad the power of divination--a power which was held in great honor by\nall the Northern races, who believed it restricted to the female sex.\nThe predictions of the Vala were never questioned, and it is even said\nthat Drusus, the Roman general, was so terrified by the appearance\nof Veleda, one of these women, forbidding his crossing the Elbe, that\nhe actually beat a retreat. She foretold his approaching death, which\nactually happened shortly after and was occasioned by a fall from his\nsteed.\n\nThese prophetesses, who were also known as Idises, Dises, or Hagedises,\nofficiated at the forest shrines and in the sacred groves, and always\naccompanied invading armies. Riding ahead, or in the very midst of the\nhost, they vehemently urged the warriors on to victory, and when the\nbattle was over they often cut the bloody-eagle upon the captives. The\nblood was then collected into great tubs, wherein the Dises plunged\ntheir naked arms up to the shoulders, previous to joining in the wild\ndance with which the ceremony ended.\n\nThese women were greatly feared, sacrifices were offered to propitiate\nthem, and it was only in later times that they were degraded to the\nrank of witches, and sent to join the demon host on the Brocken, or\nBlocksberg, on Valpurgisnacht.\n\nBesides the Norns or Dises, who were also regarded as protective\ndeities, the Northerners ascribed to each human being a guardian spirit\nnamed Fylgie, which attended him through life, either in a human or\nanimal shape, and was invisible except at the moment of death by all\nexcept the initiated few.\n\nThe allegorical meaning of the Norns and of their web of fate is too\npatent to need any explanation; still some mythologists have made them\ndemons of the air, and state that their web was the woof of clouds,\nand that the bands of mists which they strung from rock to tree, and\nfrom mountain to mountain, were ruthlessly torn apart by the suddenly\nrising wind. Some authorities, moreover, declare that Skuld, the third\nNorn, was at times a Valkyr, and at others personated the party-colored\ngoddess of death, the terrible Hel.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nTHE VALKYRS.\n\n\nOdin\u2019s special attendants, the Valkyrs, or battle maidens, were either\nhis daughters, like Brunhild, or the offspring of mortal kings, who\nwere privileged to serve this god and remain immortal and invulnerable\nas long as they implicitly obeyed his orders and remained virgins.\nThey and their steeds were the personification of the clouds, their\nglittering weapons being the lightning flashes. The ancients imagined\nthat they swept down to earth at Valfather\u2019s command, to choose among\nthe slain the heroes worthy to taste the joys of Valhalla, and brave\nenough to lend their aid to the gods when the great battle was to be\nfought.\n\n \u201cThere through some battlefield, where men fall fast,\n Their horses fetlock-deep in blood, they ride,\n And pick the bravest warriors out for death,\n Whom they bring back with them at night to Heaven,\n To glad the gods and feast in Odin\u2019s hall.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\n[Illustration: VALKYRS RIDING TO BATTLE.--P.\u00a0N. Arbo.]\n\nThese maidens, young and beautiful, with dazzling white arms and\nflowing golden hair, wore helmets of silver or gold, blood-red\ncorselets, carried glittering spears and shields, and boldly charged\nhither and thither on their mettlesome white steeds. These horses\ngalloped over the quivering Bifr\u00f6st and through the realms of air,\ncarrying not only their fair riders, but the heroes slain, who were\nthus immediately transported to Valhalla, after having received the\nValkyrs\u2019 kiss of death.\n\n[Sidenote: The clouds.]\n\nAs the Valkyrs\u2019 steeds were also personifications of the clouds, the\npeople fancied that all the hoar frost and dew dropped down upon earth\nfrom their glittering manes as they rapidly dashed to and fro through\nthe air.\n\n \u201cHe spake and his harp was with him, and he smote the strings full\n sweet,\n And sang of the host of the Valkyrs, how they ride the battle to meet,\n And the dew from the dear manes drippeth as they ride in the\n first of the sun,\n And the tree-boughs open to meet it when the wind of the dawning is\n done:\n And the deep dales drink its sweetness and spring into blossoming\n grass,\n And the earth groweth fruitful of men, and bringeth their glory to\n pass.\u201d\n\n SIGURD THE VOLSUNG (William Morris).\n\nThe Valkyrs were not only sent to visit the battlefields upon earth,\nbut often rode over the sea, snatching the dying Vikings away from the\nsinking vessels. Sometimes they stood upon the strand to beckon them\nthither, thus warning them that the coming struggle would be their\nlast--a warning which every Northern hero received with joy.\n\n \u201cSlowly they moved to the billow side;\n And the forms, as they grew more clear,\n Seem\u2019d each on a tall pale steed to ride,\n And a shadowy crest to rear,\n And to beckon with faint hand\n From the dark and rocky strand,\n And to point a gleaming spear.\n\n \u201cThen a stillness on his spirit fell,\n Before th\u2019 unearthly train;\n For he knew Valhalla\u2019s daughters well,\n The choosers of the slain!\u201d\n\n VALKYRIUR SONG (Mrs. Hemans)\n\n[Sidenote: Their number and duties.]\n\nThe number of Valkyrs differs greatly according to the various\nmythologists, and ranges from three to sixteen, the greater part of\nthem, however, naming only nine. These Valkyrs, also divinities of the\nair, were sometimes called Norns, or wish maidens, and Freya and Skuld\nwere often supposed to lead them on to the fray.\n\n \u201cShe saw Valkyries\n Come from afar,\n Ready to ride\n To the tribes of god;\n Skuld held the shield,\n Skaugul came next,\n Gunnr, Hildr, Gaundul,\n And Geir-skaugul.\n Thus now are told\n The Warrior\u2019s Norns.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Henderson\u2019s tr.).\n\nThe Valkyrs, as we have seen, were also very busy in Valhalla, where,\nhaving laid aside their bloody weapons, they poured out the heavenly\nmead for the Einheriar. These delighted in this beverage and welcomed\nthe fair maidens as warmly as when they had first seen them on the\nbattlefield and knew that their errand was to transport them where they\nfain would be.\n\n \u201cIn the shade now tall forms are advancing,\n And their wan hands like snowflakes in the moonlight are gleaming;\n They beckon, they whisper, \u2018Oh! strong Armed in Valor,\n The pale guests await thee--mead foams in Valhalla.\u2019\u201d\n\n FINN\u2019S SAGA (Hewitt).\n\n[Sidenote: Wayland, smith, and the Valkyrs.]\n\nThe Valkyrs were also supposed to own swan plumage, in which they\nfrequently flew down to earth, and which they threw aside when they\ncame near a secluded stream, so that they might indulge in a bath. Any\nmortal surprising them thus, and securing their plumage, could prevent\ntheir ever leaving the earth, and could even force these proud maidens\nto mate with him if such were his pleasure.\n\nThree of the Valkyrs, Olrun, Alvit, and Svanhvit, were once sporting\nin the waters, when suddenly the three brothers Egil, Slagfinn, and\nV\u00f6lund, or Wayland the smith, came upon them, and securing their swan\nguise forced them to remain upon earth and become their wives. The\nValkyrs, thus detained upon earth, remained with these husbands nine\nyears, but at the end of that time, recovering their plumage, or the\nspell being broken, they effected their escape.\n\n \u201cThere they stayed\n Seven winters through;\n But all the eighth\n Were with longing seized;\n And in the ninth\n Fate parted them.\n The maidens yearned\n For the murky wood,\n The young Alvit,\n Fate to fulfill.\u201d\n\n LAY OF V\u00d6LUND (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nTwo of the brothers, Egil and Slagfinn, were so lonely without their\nwives that, putting on their snow shoes, they went in search of them,\ndisappearing in the cold and foggy regions of the North; but the third\nbrother, V\u00f6lund, remained at home--knowing all search would be of no\navail--contemplating a ring which Alvit had given him as a love token,\nand constantly hoping she would return. As he was a very clever smith,\nand could manufacture the most dainty ornaments of silver and gold,\nas well as magic weapons which no blow could break, he now employed\nhis leisure in making seven hundred rings exactly like the one which\nhis wife had given him. These he bound all together; but one night, on\ncoming home from the hunt, he found that some one had carried away one\nring, leaving all the others behind; so he fancied his wife had been\nthere and would soon return for good.\n\nThat selfsame night, however, he was surprised in his sleep, and bound\nand made prisoner by Nidud, King of Sweden, who took possession of\nhis choicest sword, which he reserved for his own use, and of the\nlove ring made of pure Rhine gold, which latter he gave to his only\ndaughter, Bodvild. As for the unhappy V\u00f6lund himself, he was led\ncaptive to a neighboring island, where, after having hamstrung him to\nprevent his escape, the king made him forge weapons and ornaments for\nhis use day after day. He also compelled him to build an intricate\nlabyrinth, and to this day a maze in Iceland is known as \u201cV\u00f6lund\u2019s\nhouse.\u201d V\u00f6lund\u2019s rage and despair increased with every new insult\noffered him by Nidud, and he thought night and day how he might effect\nhis revenge. During the pauses of his labor he furthermore fashioned\na pair of wings similar to those his wife had used as a Valkyr, which\nhe intended to don as soon as his vengeance had been accomplished, to\nescape from the labyrinth on the island. One day the king came to visit\nhim, and brought him the stolen sword that he might repair it; but\nV\u00f6lund cleverly substituted another weapon so exactly like the magic\nsword as to deceive the king when he came to claim it once more. A few\ndays after, V\u00f6lund the smith enticed the king\u2019s sons into his smithy,\nslew them, and cunningly fashioned drinking vessels for Nidud out of\ntheir skulls, and jewels out of their eyes and teeth, which he bestowed\nupon their mother and sister.\n\n \u201cBut their skulls\n Beneath the hair\n He in silver set,\n And to Nidud gave;\n And of their eyes\n Precious stones he formed,\n Which to Nidud\u2019s\n Wily wife he sent.\n But of the teeth\n Of the two\n Breast ornaments he made,\n And to Bodvild sent.\u201d\n\n LAY OF V\u00d6LUND (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nThese gifts were joyfully accepted, as the royal family did not suspect\nwhence they came; for they fancied the youths had drifted out to sea,\nwhere they had been drowned. Some time after this, Bodvild, wishing\nto have her ring repaired, also visited the smith\u2019s hut, where, while\nwaiting for it, she unsuspectingly partook of a magic drug, which sent\nher to sleep and left her in V\u00f6lund\u2019s power. His last act of vengeance\naccomplished, V\u00f6lund donned the pair of wings which he had cunningly\nfashioned to effect his escape, and grasping his sword and ring slowly\nrose up in the air. He flew to the palace, and, perched there out of\nreach, he confessed all his crimes to Nidud. The king, beside himself\nwith rage, summoned Egil, V\u00f6lund\u2019s brother, who had also fallen into\nhis power, and bade him use his marvelous skill as an archer to bring\ndown the impudent bird. Obeying a signal from V\u00f6lund, Egil aimed for a\nprotuberance under his wing where a bladder full of the young princes\u2019\nblood was concealed, and V\u00f6lund flew triumphantly away, declaring that\nOdin would give his sword to Sigmund--a prediction which was duly\nfulfilled.\n\nV\u00f6lund then went to Alf-heim, where, if the legend is to be believed,\nhe found his beloved wife once more, and lived happy with her until the\ntwilight of the gods.\n\nBut, even in Alf-heim, this clever smith continued to ply his trade,\nand manufactured several suits of impenetrable armor, which are\ndescribed in later heroic poems. Besides Balmung and Joyeuse, Sigmund\u2019s\nand Charlemagne\u2019s noted swords, he is reported to have fashioned Miming\nfor his son Heime, and many other remarkable blades.\n\n \u201cIt is the mate of Miming\n Of all swerdes it is king,\n And Weland it wrought,\n Bitterfer it is hight.\u201d\n\n ANGLO-SAXON POETRY (Coneybeare\u2019s tr.).\n\nThere are countless other tales of swan maidens or Valkyrs, who are\nsaid to have consorted with mortals; but the most popular of all is\nthat of Brunhild, the wife of Sigurd, a descendant of Sigmund and the\nmost renowned of Northern heroes.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\nHEL.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Loki\u2019s offspring.]\n\nHel, goddess of death, was the daughter of Loki, god of evil, and of\nthe giantess Angur-boda, the portender of ill. She came into the world\nin a dark cave in J\u00f6tun-heim, and was closely related to the serpent\nI\u00f6rmungandr and the terrible Fenris wolf, the trio being considered the\nemblems of pain, sin, and death.\n\n \u201cNow Loki comes, cause of all ill!\n Men and \u00c6sir curse him still.\n Long shall the gods deplore,\n Even till Time be o\u2019er,\n His base fraud on Asgard\u2019s hill.\n While, deep in J\u00f6tun-heim, most fell,\n Are Fenrir, Serpent, and Dread Hel,\n Pain, Sin, and Death, his children three,\n Brought up and cherished; thro\u2019 them he\n Tormentor of the world shall be.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nOdin, having become aware of the terrible brood which Loki was\ncherishing, resolved, as we have already seen, to banish them from the\nface of the earth. The serpent was therefore cast into the sea, where\nhis writhing was supposed to cause the most terrible tempests; the wolf\nFenris was chained fast, thanks to the dauntless Tyr; and Hel or Hela,\nthe party-colored goddess of death, was hurled down into the depths of\nNifl-heim, where Odin gave her power over nine worlds.\n\n \u201cHela into Nifl-heim thou threw\u2019st,\n And gav\u2019st her nine unlighted worlds to rule,\n A queen, and empire over all the dead.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\n[Sidenote: Hel\u2019s kingdom in Nifl-heim.]\n\nThis realm, which was supposed to be situated under the earth, could\nonly be entered after a painful journey over the roughest roads in the\ncold, dark regions of the extreme North. The gate was so far from all\nhuman abode that even Hermod the swift, mounted upon Sleipnir, had to\njourney nine long nights ere he reached the river Gi\u00f6ll. This formed\nthe boundary of Nifl-heim, over which was thrown a bridge of crystal\narched with gold, hung on a single hair, and constantly guarded by the\ngrim skeleton M\u00f6dgud, who made every spirit pay a toll of blood ere she\nwould allow it to pass.\n\n \u201cThe bridge of glass hung on a hair\n Thrown o\u2019er the river terrible,--\n The Gi\u00f6ll, boundary of Hel.\n Now here the maiden M\u00f6dgud stood,\n Waiting to take the toll of blood,--\n A maiden horrible to sight,\n Fleshless, with shroud and pall bedight.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nThe spirits generally rode or drove across this bridge on the horses\nor in the wagons which had been burned upon the funeral pyre with the\ndead to serve that purpose, and the Northern races were very careful to\nbind upon the feet of the departed a specially strong pair of shoes,\ncalled Hel shoes, that they might not suffer during the long journey\nover rough roads. Soon after the Giallar bridge was passed, the spirit\nreached the Ironwood, where stood none but bare and iron-leafed trees,\nand, passing through it, reached Hel-gate, beside which the fierce,\nblood-stained dog Garm kept constant watch, cowering in a dark hole\nknown as the Gnipa cave. This monster\u2019s rage could only be appeased by\nthe offering of a Hel-cake, which never failed those who had ever given\nbread to the needy.\n\n \u201cLoud bays Garm\n Before the Gnipa cave.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nWithin the gate, amid the intense cold and impenetrable darkness, was\nheard the seething of the great caldron Hvergelmir, the rolling of the\nglaciers in the Elivagar and other streams of Hel, among which were\nthe Leipter, by which solemn oaths were sworn, and the Slid, in whose\nturbid waters naked swords continually rolled.\n\nFurther on in this grewsome place was Elvidner (misery), the hall of\nthe goddess Hel, whose dish was Hunger. Her knife was Greed. \u201cIdleness\nwas the name of her man, Sloth of her maid, Ruin of her threshold,\nSorrow of her bed, and Conflagration of her curtains.\u201d\n\n \u201cElvidner was Hela\u2019s hall.\n Iron-barred, with massive wall;\n Horrible that palace tall!\n Hunger was her table bare;\n Waste, her knife; her bed, sharp Care;\n Burning Anguish spread her feast;\n Bleached bones arrayed each guest;\n Plague and Famine sang their runes,\n Mingled with Despair\u2019s harsh tunes.\n Misery and Agony\n E\u2019er in Hel\u2019s abode shall be!\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nThis goddess had many different abodes for the guests who daily came to\nher, for she received not only perjurers and criminals of all kinds,\nbut also all those who were unfortunate enough to die without shedding\nblood. To her realm also were consigned all those who died of old age\nor disease--a mode of decease which was contemptuously called \u201cstraw\ndeath,\u201d as the beds of the people were generally of that material.\n\n \u201cTemper\u2019d hard by frost,\n Tempest and toil their nerves, the sons of those\n Whose only terror was a bloodless death.\u201d\n\n THOMSON.\n\n[Sidenote: Ideas of the future life.]\n\nAlthough the innocent were treated kindly by Hel, and enjoyed a state\nof negative bliss, it is no wonder that the inhabitants of the North\nshrank from the thought of visiting her cheerless abode. And while\nthe men preferred to mark themselves with the spear points, to hurl\nthemselves down from a precipice, or to be burned ere life was quite\nextinct, the women did not shrink from equally heroic measures. In the\nextremity of their sorrow, they did not hesitate to fling themselves\ndown a mountain side, or fall upon the swords which were given them at\ntheir marriage, so that their bodies might be burned with those whom\nthey loved and their spirits permitted to join them in the bright home\nof the gods.\n\nFurther horrors, however, awaited those whose lives had been criminal\nor impure, for they were banished to Nastrond, the strand of corpses,\nwhere they waded in ice-cold streams of venom, through a cave made\nof wattled serpents, whose poisonous fangs were all turned towards\nthem. After suffering untold agonies there, they were washed down into\nthe caldron Hvergelmir, where the serpent Nidhug ceased for a moment\ngnawing the root of the tree Yggdrasil to feed upon their bones.\n\n \u201cA hall standing\n Far from the sun\n In N\u00e2str\u00f6nd;\n Its doors are northward turned,\n Venom-drops fall\n In through its apertures;\n Entwined is that hall\n With serpents\u2019 backs.\n She there saw wading\n The sluggish streams\n Bloodthirsty men\n And perjurers,\n And him who the ear beguiles\n Of another\u2019s wife.\n There Nidhog sucks\n The corpses of the dead.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: Pestilence and famine.]\n\nHel herself was supposed occasionally to leave her dismal abode to\nrange the earth upon her three-legged white horse, and in times of\npestilence or famine she was said to use a rake if a part of the\ninhabitants escaped, and a broom when whole villages and provinces were\ndepopulated, as was the case during the historical epidemic of the\nBlack Death.\n\nThe Northern races further fancied that the spirits of the dead were\nsometimes allowed to revisit the earth and appear to their relatives,\nwhose sorrow or joy affected them even after death, as is proved by the\nDanish ballad of Aager and Else, where a dead lover bids his sweetheart\nsmile, so that his coffin may be filled with roses instead of the\nclotted blood drops produced by her tears.\n\n \u201c\u2018Listen now, my good Sir Aager!\n Dearest bridegroom, all I crave\n Is to know how it goes with thee\n In that lonely place, the grave?\u2019\n\n \u201c\u2018Every time that thou rejoicest,\n And art happy in thy mind,\n Are my lonely grave\u2019s recesses\n All with leaves of roses lined.\n\n \u201c\u2018Every time that, love, thou grievest,\n And dost shed the briny flood,\n Are my lonely grave\u2019s recesses\n Filled with black and loathsome blood.\u2019\u201d\n\n BALLAD OF AAGER AND ELIZA (Longfellow\u2019s tr.).\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\n\u00c6GIR.\n\n\n[Sidenote: God of the sea.]\n\nBesides Ni\u00f6rd and Mimir, who were both ocean divinities, the one\nrepresenting the sea near the coast and the other the primeval ocean\nwhence all things were supposed to have sprung, the Northern races\nrecognized another sea-ruler, called \u00c6gir or Hier, who dwelt either in\nthe cool depths of his liquid realm or had his abode on the Island of\nLessoe, in the Cattegat, or Hlesey.\n\n \u201cBeneath the watery dome,\n With crystalline splendor,\n In radiant grandeur,\n Upreared the sea-god\u2019s home.\n More dazzling than foam of the waves\n E\u2019er glimmered and gleamed thro\u2019 deep caves\n The glistening sands of its floor,\n Like some placid lake rippled o\u2019er.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\n\u00c6gir (the sea), like his brothers Kari (the air) and Loki (fire), is\nsupposed to have belonged to an older dynasty of the gods, for he\nranked neither with the \u00c6sir, the Vanas, the giants, dwarfs, nor elves,\nbut was considered omnipotent within his realm.\n\nHe was supposed to occasion and quiet the great tempests which swept\nover the deep, and was generally represented as a gaunt old man,\nwith long white beard and hair, his clawlike fingers ever clutching\nconvulsively, as though he longed to have all things within his grasp.\nWhenever he appeared above the waves, it was only to take fiendish\ndelight in pursuing and overturning vessels, which he greedily dragged\ndown to the bottom of the sea.\n\n[Sidenote: Ran.]\n\n\u00c6gir was mated with his sister, the goddess Ran, whose name means\n\u201crobber,\u201d and who was as cruel, greedy, and insatiable as her husband.\nHer favorite pastime was lurking near dangerous rocks, whither she\nenticed mariners. There she spread her net, her most prized possession,\nand, having entangled the men in its meshes and broken their vessels on\nthe jagged cliffs, she calmly drew them down into her cheerless realm.\n\n \u201cIn the deep sea caves\n By the sounding shore,\n In the dashing waves\n When the wild storms roar,\n In her cold green bowers\n In the Northern fiords,\n She lurks and she glowers,\n She grasps and she hoards,\n And she spreads her strong net for her prey.\u201d\n\n STORY OF SIEGFRIED (Baldwin).\n\nRan was therefore also considered the goddess of death for all who\nperished at sea, and the Northern nations fancied that she entertained\nthe drowned in her coral caves, where her couches were spread to\nreceive them, and where the mead flowed freely as in Valhalla. The\ngoddess was further supposed to have a great affection for gold,\nwhich was called the \u201cflame of the sea,\u201d and was used to illuminate\nher halls. This belief originated when the sailors first noticed the\nwell-known phosphorescent gleams in the deep, and to win Ran\u2019s good\ngraces, they were careful to hide some gold about them whenever any\nspecial danger threatened them on the sea.\n\n \u201cGold, on sweetheart ramblings,\n Pow\u2019rful is and pleasant;\n Who goes empty-handed\n Down to sea-blue Ran,\n Cold her kisses strike, and\n Fleeting her embrace is--\n But we ocean\u2019s bride be-\n Troth with purest gold.\u201d\n\n VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\n[Sidenote: The Waves.]\n\n\u00c6gir and Ran had nine beautiful daughters, the Waves, or billow\nmaidens, whose snowy arms and bosoms, long golden hair, deep-blue eyes,\nand willowy, sensuous forms were fascinating in the extreme. These\nmaidens delighted in playing all over the surface of their father\u2019s\nvast domain, lightly clad in transparent blue, white, or green veils.\nThey were very moody and capricious damsels, however, varying from\nplayful to sullen and apathetic moods, and at times exciting one\nanother almost to madness, tearing their hair and veils, flinging\nthemselves recklessly upon their hard beds, the rocks, chasing one\nanother with frantic haste, and shrieking aloud with joy or despair.\nThese maidens, however, seldom came out to play unless their brother,\nthe Wind, were abroad, and according to his mood they were gentle and\nplayful, or rough and boisterous.\n\nThe Waves were generally supposed to go about in triplets, and were\noften said to play around the ships of vikings whom they favored,\nsmoothing away every obstacle from their course, and helping them\nspeedily to reach their goal.\n\n \u201cAnd \u00c6ger\u2019s daughters, in blue veils dight,\n The helm leap round, and urge it on its flight.\u201d\n\n VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\n[Sidenote: \u00c6gir\u2019s brewing kettle.]\n\nIn Anglo-Saxon the sea-god \u00c6gir was known by the name of Eagor, and\nwhenever an unusually large wave came thundering towards the shore, the\nsailors were wont to cry, as the Trent boatmen still do, \u201cLook out,\nEagor is coming!\u201d He was also known by the name of Hler (the shelterer)\namong the Northern nations, and of Gymir (the concealer), because he\nwas always ready to hide things in the depths of his realm, never\nrevealing the secrets intrusted to his care. And, because the waters\nof the sea were frequently said to seethe and hiss, the ocean was often\ncalled \u00c6gir\u2019s brewing kettle or vat.\n\nHis two principal servants, noted for their quickness, were Elde and\nFunfeng, emblems of the phosphorescence of the sea; they invariably\nwaited upon the guests whom he invited to his banquets in the depths\nof the sea. \u00c6gir sometimes left his realm to visit the \u00c6sir in Asgard,\nwhere he was royally entertained, and took special pleasure in Bragi\u2019s\ntales of the various adventures and achievements of the gods. Excited\nby the sparkling mead and by these tales, the god on one occasion\nventured to invite all the \u00c6sir to celebrate the harvest feast with him\nin Hlesey, where he promised to entertain them in his turn.\n\n[Sidenote: Thor and Hymir.]\n\nSurprised at this invitation, one of them ventured to remind \u00c6gir\nthat the gods were accustomed to dainty fare; but the god of the sea\ndeclared that as far as eating was concerned they need have no care,\nas he was sure he could cater to the most fastidious appetites; but\nhe confessed that he was not so confident about drink, as his brewing\nkettle was rather small. Hearing this, Thor immediately volunteered to\nprocure a suitable kettle, and set out with Tyr to obtain it. The two\ngods journeyed east of the Elivagar in Thor\u2019s goat chariot, left this\nconveyance at the house of the peasant Egil, Thialfi\u2019s father, and\nwended their way on foot to the dwelling of the giant Hymir, who, they\nknew, owned a kettle one mile deep and proportionately wide.\n\n \u201cThere dwells eastward\n Of Elivagar\n The all-wise Hymir,\n At heaven\u2019s end.\n My sire, fierce of mood,\n A kettle owns,\n A capacious cauldron,\n A rast in depth.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nOnly the women were at home, however, and Tyr recognized in the\neldest--an ugly old hag with nine hundred heads--his own grandmother,\nwhile the youngest, a beautiful young giantess, his mother, hospitably\nreceived him and his companion and gave them a drink.\n\nAfter learning their errand, this woman bade Tyr and Thor hide under\nsome huge kettles resting upon a beam at the end of the hall, for her\nhusband Hymir was very hasty and often slew his would-be guests with\na single baleful glance. The gods had no sooner followed her advice\nthan the old giant Hymir came in. When his wife told him that visitors\nhad come, he frowned so portentously, and flashed such a wrathful look\ntowards their hiding place, that the rafter split and the kettles fell\nwith a crash, and were all dashed to pieces with the exception of the\nlargest.\n\n \u201cIn shivers flew the pillar\n At the J\u00f6tun\u2019s glance;\n The beam was first\n Broken in two.\n Eight kettles fell,\n But only one of them,\n A hard-hammered cauldron,\n Whole from the column.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nThe giant\u2019s wife, however, prevailed upon him to welcome Tyr and Thor,\nand slay three oxen for their refection; but he was greatly dismayed to\nsee the thunder-god eat two of these for his supper. Muttering that he\nwould have to go fishing early the next morning to secure a breakfast\nfor such a voracious guest, the giant fell asleep. When he went down to\nthe shore at dawn the next day, he was joined by Thor, who declared he\nwould help him. As the giant bade him secure his own bait for fishing,\nThor coolly slew his host\u2019s largest ox, Himinbrioter (heaven breaker),\ncut off its head, and, embarking with it, proceeded to row far out to\nsea. In vain Hymir protested that his usual fishing ground had been\nreached, and that they might encounter the terrible Midgard snake were\nthey to venture any farther--Thor persistently rowed on, until he\nfancied they were directly above this monster.\n\n \u201cOn the dark bottom of the great salt lake,\n Imprisoned lay the giant snake,\n With naught his sullen sleep to break.\u201d\n\n THOR\u2019S FISHING, OEHLENSCHL\u00c4GER (Pigott\u2019s tr.).\n\nBaiting his powerful hook with the ox head, Thor angled for\nI\u00f6rmungandr, while the giant drew up two whales, which seemed enough\nfor an early morning\u2019s meal.\n\nAs Hymir was about to propose a return, Thor suddenly felt a jerk, and\nbegan pulling as hard as he could, for he knew by the resistance of\nhis prey, and the terrible storm lashed up by its writhings, that he\nhad hooked the Midgard snake. In his determined efforts to force him\nto rise to the surface, Thor braced his feet so strongly against the\nbottom of the boat that he went through it and stood on the bed of the\nsea.\n\nAfter an indescribable struggle, the monster\u2019s terrible venom-breathing\nhead appeared, and Thor, seizing his hammer, was about to annihilate it\nwhen the giant, frightened by the proximity of I\u00f6rmungandr, and fearing\nlest the boat should sink and he become its prey, drew his knife, cut\nthe fishing line, and thus allowed the monster to drop back like a\nstone to the bottom of the sea.\n\n \u201cThe knife prevails: far down beneath the main\n The serpent, spent with toil and pain,\n To the bottom sank again.\u201d\n\n THOR\u2019S FISHING, OEHLENSCHL\u00c4GER (Pigott\u2019s tr.).\n\nAngry with Hymir for his inopportune interference, Thor dealt him\na blow with his hammer which knocked him overboard; but Hymir,\nundismayed, waded ashore, and met him as he returned to the beach.\nHymir then took both whales, his share of the fishing, upon his back,\nto carry them to the house; and Thor, wishing to show his strength\nalso, shouldered boat, oars, and fishing tackle, and followed him.\n\nBreakfast being disposed of, Hymir challenged Thor to show his strength\nby breaking his goblet; but although the thunder-god threw it with\nirresistible force against stone pillars and walls, it remained whole\nand was not even bent. In obedience to a whisper from Tyr\u2019s mother,\nhowever, Thor suddenly hurled it against the giant\u2019s forehead, the\nonly substance tougher than itself, where it was shivered to pieces.\nHymir, having thus seen what Thor could do, told him he might have the\nrequired kettle, which Tyr vainly tried to lift, and which Thor could\nraise from the floor only after he had drawn his belt of strength up to\nthe very last hole.\n\n \u201cTyr twice assayed\n To move the vessel,\n Yet at each time\n Stood the kettle fast.\n Then M\u00f4di\u2019s father\n By the brim grasped it,\n And trod through\n The dwelling\u2019s floor.\u201d\n\n LAY OF HYMIR (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nThe wrench with which he pulled it up, however, greatly shattered the\ngiant\u2019s house and broke his floor to pieces. As Tyr and Thor were\ndeparting, the latter having clapped the huge pot on his head in the\nguise of a hat, Hymir summoned the other frost giants, and proposed\nthat they should slay their inveterate foe. Before they could overtake\nhim, Thor, turning around, became aware of their pursuit, and, hurling\nMi\u00f6lnir repeatedly at them, slew them all ere he carried the kettle in\ntriumph to \u00c6gir to enable him to brew enough ale for the harvest feast.\n\nThe physical explanation of this myth is, of course, a thunder storm\n(Thor), in conflict with the raging sea (the Midgard snake), and the\nbreaking up of the polar ice (Hymir\u2019s goblet and floor) in the heat of\nsummer.\n\nThe gods now joyfully accepted \u00c6gir\u2019s invitation to be present at\nhis feast, went there in festive array, and were ever after wont to\ncelebrate the harvest home in his coral caves.\n\n \u201cThen Vans and \u00c6sir, mighty gods,\n Of earth and air, and Asgard, lords,--\n Advancing with each goddess fair,\n A brilliant retinue most rare,--\n Attending mighty Odin, swept\n Up wave-worn aisle in radiant march.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\n\u00c6gir, as we have seen, ruled over all the sea with the help of the\ntreacherous Ran. Both of these divinities were considered cruel by\nthe Northern nations, who had much to suffer from the sea, which,\nsurrounding them on all sides, ran far into the heart of their\ncountries by means of the numerous fiords, and often swallowed the\nships of their vikings, with all the men on board.\n\n \u201cWe Goth-folk know indeed\n That the sea is a foe full deadly, and a friend that fails at need,\n And that Ran, who dwells thereunder, will many a man beguile.\u201d\n\n SIGURD THE VOLSUNG (William Morris).\n\n[Sidenote: Other divinities of the sea.]\n\nBesides these principal divinities of the sea, the Northern nations\nbelieved in mermen and mermaids, the latter having swan plumage or seal\ngarments, which they sometimes laid for a moment upon the beach, and if\na mortal secured them he could compel the fair maidens to remain ashore.\n\n \u201cShe came through the waves when the fair moon shone\n (Drift o\u2019 the wave and foam o\u2019 the sea);\n She came where I walked on the sands alone,\n With a heart as light as a heart may be.\u201d\n\n L. E. R.\n\nThere were also malignant marine monsters who were known as Nicors,\nfrom whose name has been derived the proverbial Old Nick. Many of the\nlesser water divinities had fish tails; the females bore the name of\nUndines, and the males of Stromkarls, Nixies, Necks, or Neckar. These\nwater spirits often left their native streams, especially during the\nmiddle ages, to appear at village dances, where they were recognized by\nthe wet hem of their garments. They often sat beside the flowing brook\nor river, playing on a harp, or sang alluring songs while combing out\ntheir long golden or green hair.\n\n \u201cThe Neck here his harp in the glass castle plays,\n And mermaidens comb out their green hair always,\n And bleach here their shining white clothes.\u201d\n\n STAGNELIUS (Keightley\u2019s tr.).\n\nThe Nixies, Undines, and Stromkarls were particularly gentle and\nlovable beings, and were very anxious indeed to obtain repeated\nassurances of their ultimate salvation.\n\nMany stories are therefore told of priests or children meeting these\nspirits playing by a stream, and taunting them with future damnation,\nwhich threat turned the joyful music to pitiful wails. But when priest\nor children, discovering their mistake, hastened back to the stream\nand assured the green-toothed water sprites of future redemption, they\ninvariably resumed their happy strain.\n\n \u201cKnow you the Nixies, gay and fair?\n Their eyes are black, and green their hair--\n They lurk in sedgy shores.\u201d\n\n MATHISSON.\n\n[Sidenote: River nymphs.]\n\nBesides Elf or Elb, the water sprite who gave its name to the Elbe\nRiver in Germany, the Neck, from whom the Neckar derives its name, and\nold Father Rhine, with his numerous daughters (tributary streams),\nthe most famous of all the lesser water divinities is the Lorelei,\nthe siren maiden who sits upon the Lorelei rock near St. Goar, on the\nRhine, and whose alluring song has enticed many a mariner to death. The\nlegends concerning this siren are very numerous indeed, one of the most\nancient being as follows:\n\nLorelei was an immortal, a water nymph, daughter of old Father Rhine;\nduring the day she dwelt in the cool depths of the river bed, but late\nat night she appeared in the moonlight, sitting aloft upon a pinnacle\nof rock, in full view of all who passed up or down the stream. At\ntimes, the evening breeze wafted some of the notes of her song to the\nboatmen\u2019s ears, when, forgetting time and place in listening to these\nenchanting melodies, they drifted upon the sharp and jagged rocks,\nwhere they invariably perished.\n\n \u201cAbove the maiden sitteth,\n A wondrous form, and fair;\n With jewels bright she plaiteth\n Her shining golden hair:\n With comb of gold prepares it,\n The task with song beguiled;\n A fitful burden bears it--\n That melody so wild.\n\n \u201cThe boatman on the river\n Lists to the song, spell-bound;\n Oh! what shall him deliver\n From danger threat\u2019ning round?\n The waters deep have caught them,\n Both boat and boatman brave;\n \u2019Tis Loreley\u2019s song hath brought them\n Beneath the foaming wave.\u201d\n\n SONG, HEINE (Selcher\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: The Lorelei and the fisherman.]\n\nOne person only is reported to have seen the Lorelei close by, a young\nfisherman from Oberwesel, who met her every evening by riverside, and\nspent a few delightful hours with her, drinking in her beauty and\nlistening to her entrancing song. Tradition further relates that ere\nthey parted the Lorelei invariably pointed out the places where the\nyouth must cast his nets on the morrow--instructions which he always\nobeyed, and which invariably brought him success.\n\nOne night the young fisherman was seen going towards the river, but as\nhe never returned search was made for him. No clew to his whereabouts\nbeing found, the credulous Germans finally reported that the Lorelei\nhad dragged him down to her coral caves that she might enjoy his\ncompanionship forever.\n\n[Illustration: LORELEI AND THE FISHERMAN.--Paul Thumann.]\n\nAccording to another version, the Lorelei, perching on the rocks above,\nand luring the fishermen by her songs, caused so many deaths that\nan armed force was once sent out at nightfall to surround and seize\nher. But the water nymph used her magic to lay such a powerful spell\nupon the captain and his men that they could move neither hand nor\nfoot. While they stood motionless around her, the Lorelei divested\nherself of all her ornaments, which she flung into the waves below;\nthen, chanting a spell, she lured the waters up to the top of the\nrock, and the soldiers saw her spring into a sea-green chariot drawn\nby white-maned steeds, and drive rapidly away. A few moments later the\nRhine had subsided to its usual level, the spell was broken, and the\nmen recovered the power of motion, and retreated to announce how their\nefforts had been baffled. Since then, however, the Lorelei has never\nbeen seen, and the peasants declare that she still resents the insult\noffered her and will no longer leave her coral caves.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\nBALDER.\n\n\nOdin and Frigga, we are told, were parents of twin sons as dissimilar\nin character and physical appearance as it was possible to be; for\nwhile Hodur, god of darkness, was somber, taciturn, and blind, like\nthe obscurity of sin, which he was supposed to symbolize, Balder, the\nbeautiful, was the pure and radiant god of innocence and light. The\nsnowy brow and golden locks of this Asa seemed to send out beams of\nsunshine to gladden the hearts of gods and men, by whom he was equally\nbeloved.\n\n \u201cOf all the twelve round Odin\u2019s throne,\n Balder, the Beautiful, alone,\n The Sun-god, good, and pure, and bright,\n Was loved by all, as all love light.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\n[Sidenote: Nanna.]\n\nBalder, attaining his full growth with marvelous rapidity, was admitted\nto the council of the gods, and married Nanna (blossom), the daughter\nof Nip (bud), a beautiful and charming young goddess, with whom he\nlived in perfect unity and peace. He took up his abode in the palace\nof Breidablik, whose silver roof rested upon golden pillars, and whose\npurity was such that nothing common or unclean was ever allowed within\nits precincts.\n\nThe god of light was well versed in the science of runes which were\ncarved on his tongue; he knew the various virtues of the simples, one\nof which, the camomile, was always called \u201cBalder\u2019s brow,\u201d because its\nflower was just as immaculately pure as his forehead. The only thing\nhidden from Balder\u2019s radiant eyes, at first, was the perception of his\nown ultimate fate.\n\n \u201cHis own house\n Breidablik, on whose columns Balder graved\n The enchantments that recall the dead to life.\n For wise he was, and many curious arts,\n Postures of runes, and healing herbs he knew;\n Unhappy! but that art he did not know,\n To keep his own life safe, and see the sun.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nAs Balder the beautiful was always smiling and happy, the gods were\ngreatly troubled when they finally saw the light die out of his blue\neyes, a careworn look come into his face, and his step grow heavy and\nslow. Odin and Frigga, seeing their beloved son\u2019s evident depression,\ntenderly implored him to reveal the cause of his silent grief. Balder,\nyielding at last to their anxious entreaties, confessed that his\nslumbers, instead of being peaceful and restful as of yore, had been\nstrangely troubled of late by dark and oppressive dreams, which,\nalthough he could not clearly remember them when he awoke, constantly\nhaunted him with a vague feeling of fear.\n\n \u201cTo that god his slumber\n Was most afflicting;\n His auspicious dreams\n Seemed departed.\u201d\n\n LAY OF VEGTAM (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nWhen Odin and Frigga heard this, they were troubled indeed, but\ndeclared they were quite sure nothing would harm their son, who was\nso universally beloved. Yet, when the anxious father and mother had\nreturned home, they talked the matter over, acknowledged that they\nalso were oppressed by strange forebodings, and having learned from\nthe giants that Balder really was in danger, they proceeded to take\nmeasures to avert it.\n\nFrigga, therefore, sent out her servants in every direction, bidding\nthem make all living creatures, all plants, metals, stones--in fact,\nevery animate and inanimate thing--register a solemn vow not to do any\nharm to Balder. All creation readily took the oath, for all things\nloved the radiant god, and basked in the light of his smile. So the\nservants soon returned to Frigga, telling her that all had been duly\nsworn except the mistletoe, growing upon the oak stem at the gate of\nValhalla, which, they added, was such a puny, inoffensive thing that no\nharm could be feared from it.\n\n \u201cOn a course they resolved:\n That they would send\n To every being,\n Assurance to solicit,\n Balder not to harm.\n All species swore\n Oaths to spare him;\n Frigg received all\n Their vows and compacts.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: The Vala\u2019s prophecy.]\n\nFrigga now resumed her spinning with her usual content, for she knew no\nharm could come to the child she loved best of all. Odin, in the mean\nwhile, also sorely troubled, and wishing to ascertain whether there was\nany cause for his unwonted depression, resolved to consult one of the\ndead Valas or prophetesses. He therefore mounted his eight-footed steed\nSleipnir, rode over the tremulous bridges Bifr\u00f6st and Giallar, came to\nthe entrance of Nifl-heim, and, passing the Hel-gate and the dog Garm,\npenetrated into Hel\u2019s dark abode.\n\n \u201cUprose the king of men with speed,\n And saddled straight his coal-black steed;\n Down the yawning steep he rode,\n That leads to Hela\u2019s drear abode.\u201d\n\n DESCENT OF ODIN (Gray).\n\nTo his surprise, he noticed that a feast was being spread in this dark\nrealm, and that the couches had all been covered with tapestry and\nrings of gold, as if some highly honored guest were expected before\nlong. Hastening on, Odin finally reached the grave where the Vala had\nrested undisturbed for many a year, and solemnly began to chant the\nmagic spell and trace the runes which had the power of raising the dead.\n\n \u201cThrice pronounc\u2019d, in accents dread,\n The thrilling verse that wakes the dead:\n Till from out the hollow ground\n Slowly breath\u2019d a sullen sound.\u201d\n\n DESCENT OF ODIN (Gray).\n\nSuddenly the grave opened, and the prophetess slowly rose, inquiring\nwho he was and why he thus came to trouble her long rest. Odin, not\nwishing her to know that he was king of the gods, replied that he was\nVegtam, Valtam\u2019s son, and that he had awakened her to inquire for whom\nHel was spreading her couches and preparing a festive meal. In hollow\ntones, the prophetess now confirmed all his fears by telling him that\nthe expected guest was Balder, who would shortly be slain by Hodur, his\nbrother, the blind god of darkness.\n\n \u201cHodur will hither\n His glorious brother send;\n He of Balder will\n The slayer be,\n And Odin\u2019s son\n Of life bereave.\n By compulsion I have spoken;\n Now I will be silent.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nBut in spite of these sad tidings, and of the Vala\u2019s evident reluctance\nto answer any other questions, Odin was not yet satisfied, and\nforced her to tell him who would avenge the murdered man by calling\nhis assassin to account--a spirit of revenge and retaliation being\nconsidered a sacred duty among the races of the North.\n\nThen the prophetess told him, as Rossthiof had predicted before, that\nRinda, the earth-goddess, would bear a son to Odin, and that this\ndivine emissary, Vali, would neither wash his face nor comb his hair\nuntil he had avenged Balder and slain Hodur.\n\n \u201cIn the caverns of the west,\n By Odin\u2019s fierce embrace comprest,\n A wondrous boy shall Rinda bear,\n Who ne\u2019er shall comb his raven hair,\n Nor wash his visage in the stream,\n Nor see the sun\u2019s departing beam,\n Till he on Hoder\u2019s corse shall smile\n Flaming on the fun\u2019ral pile.\u201d\n\n DESCENT OF ODIN (Gray).\n\nHaving discovered this from the reluctant Vala, Odin, who, thanks to\nhis visit to the Urdar fountain, already knew much of the future, now\nincautiously revealed some of his knowledge by inquiring who would\nrefuse to weep at Balder\u2019s death. When the prophetess heard this\nquestion, she immediately knew that it was Odin who had called her out\nof her grave, and, refusing to speak another word, she sank back into\nthe silence of the tomb, declaring that none would ever be able to lure\nher out again until the end of the world had come.\n\n \u201cHie thee hence, and boast at home,\n That never shall inquirer come\n To break my iron sleep again,\n Till Lok has burst his tenfold chain;\n Never, till substantial Night\n Has reassum\u2019d her ancient right:\n Till wrapt in flames, in ruin hurl\u2019d,\n Sinks the fabric of the world.\u201d\n\n DESCENT OF ODIN (Gray)\n\nOdin had questioned the greatest prophetess the world had ever known,\nand had learned Orlog\u2019s (fate\u2019s) decrees, which he knew could not be\nset aside. He therefore remounted his steed, and sadly wended his way\nback to Asgard, thinking of the time, no longer far distant, when his\nbeloved son would no more be seen in the heavenly abodes, and when the\nlight of his presence would have vanished forever.\n\nOn entering Glads-heim, however, Odin was somewhat cheered when he\nheard of the precautions taken by Frigga to insure their darling\u2019s\nsafety, and soon, feeling convinced that if nothing would slay Balder\nhe would surely continue to gladden the world with his presence, he\ncast aside all care and ordered games and a festive meal.\n\n[Sidenote: The gods at play.]\n\nThe gods resumed their wonted occupations, and were soon casting their\ngolden disks on the green plain of Ida, which was called Idavold, the\nplayground of the gods. At last, wearying of this pastime, and knowing\nthat no harm could come to their beloved Balder, they invented a new\ngame and began to use him as a target, throwing all manner of weapons\nand missiles at him, certain that no matter how cleverly they tried,\nand how accurately they aimed, the objects, having sworn not to injure\nhim, would either glance aside or fall short. This new amusement was\nso fascinating that soon all the gods were assembled around Balder, at\nwhom they threw every available thing, greeting each new failure with\nprolonged shouts of laughter. These bursts of merriment soon excited\nthe curiosity of Frigga, who sat spinning in Fensalir; and seeing an\nold woman pass by her dwelling, she bade her pause and tell what the\ngods were doing to provoke such great hilarity. The old woman, who was\nLoki in disguise, immediately stopped at this appeal, and told Frigga\nthat all the gods were throwing stones and blunt and sharp instruments\nat Balder, who stood smiling and unharmed in their midst, daring them\nto touch him.\n\nThe goddess smiled, and resumed her work, saying that it was quite\nnatural that nothing should harm Balder, as all things loved the light,\nof which he was the emblem, and had solemnly sworn not to injure him.\nLoki, the personification of fire, was greatly disappointed upon\nhearing this, for he was jealous of Balder, the sun, who so entirely\neclipsed him and was generally beloved, while he was feared and avoided\nas much as possible; but he cleverly concealed his chagrin, and\ninquired of Frigga whether she were quite sure that all objects had\njoined the league.\n\nFrigga proudly answered that she had received the solemn oath of all\nthings, except of a harmless little parasite, the mistletoe, which\ngrew on the oak near Valhalla\u2019s gate, and was too small and weak to\nbe feared. Having obtained the desired information, Loki toddled off;\nbut as soon as he was safely out of sight, he resumed his wonted\nform, hastened to Valhalla, found the oak and mistletoe indicated by\nFrigga, and by magic arts compelled the parasite to assume a growth and\nhardness hitherto unknown.\n\n[Sidenote: Death of Balder.]\n\nFrom the wooden stem thus produced he deftly fashioned a shaft ere he\nhastened back to Idavold, where the gods were still hurling missiles\nat Balder, Hodur alone leaning mournfully against a tree, and taking\nno part in the new game. Carelessly Loki approached him, inquired the\ncause of his melancholy, and twitted him with pride and indifference,\nsince he would not condescend to take part in the new game. In answer\nto these remarks, Hodur pleaded his blindness; but when Loki put the\nmistletoe in his hand, led him into the midst of the circle, and\nindicated in what direction the novel target stood, Hodur threw his\nshaft boldly. Instead of the loud shout of laughter which he expected\nto hear, a shuddering cry of terror fell upon his ear, for Balder the\nbeautiful had fallen to the ground, slain by the fatal blow.\n\n \u201cSo on the floor lay Balder dead; and round\n Lay thickly strewn swords, axes, darts, and spears,\n Which all the Gods in sport had idly thrown\n At Balder, whom no weapon pierced or clove;\n But in his breast stood fixed the fatal bough\n Of mistletoe, which Lok, the Accuser, gave\n To Hoder, and unwitting Hoder threw--\n \u2019Gainst that alone had Balder\u2019s life no charm.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\n[Illustration: BALDER]\n\nAnxiously the gods all crowded around him, but alas! life was quite\nextinct, and all their efforts to revive the fallen sun-god were vain.\nInconsolable at their loss, they turned angrily upon Hodur, whom\nthey would have slain had they not been restrained by the feeling that\nno willful deed of violence should ever desecrate their peace steads.\nAt the loud sound of lamentation the goddesses came in hot haste, and\nwhen Frigga saw that her darling was dead, she passionately implored\nthe gods to go to Nifl-heim and entreat Hel to release her victim, for\nthe earth could not live happy without him.\n\n[Sidenote: Hermod\u2019s errand.]\n\nAs the road was rough and painful in the extreme, none of the gods\nat first volunteered to go; but when Frigga added that she and Odin\nwould reward the messenger by loving him most of all the \u00c6sir, Hermod\nsignified his readiness to execute the commission. To help him on his\nway, Odin lent him Sleipnir, and bade him good speed, while he motioned\nto the other gods to carry the corpse to Breidablik, and directed them\nto go to the forest and cut down huge pines to make a worthy pyre for\nhis son.\n\n \u201cBut when the Gods were to the forest gone,\n Hermod led Sleipnir from Valhalla forth\n And saddled him; before that, Sleipnir brook\u2019d\n No meaner hand than Odin\u2019s on his mane,\n On his broad back no lesser rider bore;\n Yet docile now he stood at Hermod\u2019s side,\n Arching his neck, and glad to be bestrode,\n Knowing the God they went to seek, how dear.\n But Hermod mounted him, and sadly fared\n In silence up the dark untravel\u2019d road\n Which branches from the north of Heaven, and went\n All day; and daylight waned, and night came on.\n And all that night he rode, and journey\u2019d so,\n Nine days, nine nights, toward the northern ice,\n Through valleys deep-engulph\u2019d by roaring streams.\n And on the tenth morn he beheld the bridge\n Which spans with golden arches Giall\u2019s stream,\n And on the bridge a damsel watching, arm\u2019d,\n In the straight passage, at the further end,\n Where the road issues between walling rocks.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nWhile Hermod was traveling along the cheerless road to Nifl-heim,\nthe gods hewed and carried down to the shore a vast amount of fuel,\nwhich they placed upon the deck of Balder\u2019s favorite vessel, Ringhorn,\nconstructing an elaborate funeral pyre, which, according to custom,\nwas decorated with tapestry hangings, garlands of flowers, vessels and\nweapons of all kinds, golden rings, and countless objects of value, ere\nthe immaculate corpse was brought and laid upon it in full attire.\n\nOne by one, the gods now drew near to take a last farewell of their\nbeloved companion, and as Nanna bent over him, her loving heart broke,\nand she fell lifeless by his side. Seeing this, the gods reverently\nlaid her beside her husband, that she might accompany him even in\ndeath; and after they had slain his horse and hounds and twined the\npyre with thorns, the emblems of sleep, Odin, the last of the gods,\ndrew near.\n\n[Sidenote: The funeral pyre.]\n\nIn token of affection for the dead and of sorrow for his loss, all laid\ntheir most precious possessions upon his pyre, and Odin, bending down,\nnow added to the offerings his magic ring Draupnir. The assembled gods\nthen perceived that he was whispering in his dead son\u2019s ear, but none\nwere near enough to hear what word he said.\n\nThese preliminaries ended, the gods now prepared to launch the ship,\nbut found it so heavily laden with fuel and treasures that their\ncombined efforts could not make it stir an inch. The mountain giants,\nwitnessing the sad scene from afar, and noticing their quandary, said\nthat they knew of a giantess called Hyrrokin, who dwelt in J\u00f6tun-heim,\nand was strong enough to launch the vessel without any other aid.\nThe gods therefore bade one of the storm giants hasten off to summon\nHyrrokin, who soon appeared, riding a gigantic wolf, which she guided\nby a bridle made of writhing live snakes. Riding down to the shore, the\ngiantess dismounted and haughtily signified her readiness to give them\nthe required aid, if in the mean while they would but hold her steed.\nOdin immediately dispatched four of his maddest Berserkers to fulfill\nthis task; but, in spite of their phenomenal strength, they could not\nhold the monstrous wolf until the giantess had thrown and bound it fast.\n\nHyrrokin, seeing them now able to manage her refractory steed, marched\ndown the beach, set her shoulder against the stern of Balder\u2019s ship\nRinghorn, and with one mighty shove sent it out into the water. Such\nwas the weight of the burden she moved, however, and the rapidity with\nwhich it shot down into the sea, that all the earth shook as if from\nan earthquake, and the rollers on which it glided caught fire from\nthe friction. The unexpected shock almost made the gods lose their\nbalance, and so angered Thor that he raised his hammer and would have\nslain the giantess had he not been restrained by his fellow gods.\nEasily appeased, as usual--for Thor\u2019s violence, although quick, was\nevanescent--he now stepped up on the vessel once more to consecrate the\nfuneral pyre with his sacred hammer. But, as he was performing this\nceremony, the dwarf Lit managed to get into his way so provokingly that\nThor, still slightly angry, kicked him into the fire, which he had just\nkindled with a thorn, where the dwarf was burned to ashes with the\ncorpses of the faithful pair.\n\nAs the vessel drifted out to sea, the flames rose higher and higher,\nand when it neared the western horizon it seemed as if sea and sky were\nall on fire. Sadly the gods watched the glowing ship and its precious\nfreight, until it suddenly plunged into the waves and disappeared; nor\ndid they turn aside and go back to their own homes until the last spark\nof light had vanished, and all the world was enveloped in darkness, in\ntoken of mourning for Balder the good.\n\n \u201cSoon with a roaring rose the mighty fire,\n And the pile crackled; and between the logs\n Sharp quivering tongues of flame shot out, and leapt\n Curling and darting, higher, until they lick\u2019d\n The summit of the pile, the dead, the mast,\n And ate the shriveling sails; but still the ship\n Drove on, ablaze above her hull with fire.\n And the gods stood upon the beach, and gazed;\n And while they gazed, the sun went lurid down\n Into the smoke-wrapt sea, and night came on.\n Then the wind fell with night, and there was calm;\n But through the dark they watch\u2019d the burning ship\n Still carried o\u2019er the distant waters, on\n Farther and farther, like an eye of fire.\n So show\u2019d in the far darkness, Balder\u2019s pile;\n But fainter, as the stars rose high, it flared;\n The bodies were consumed, ash choked the pile.\n And as, in a decaying winter fire,\n A charr\u2019d log, falling, makes a shower of sparks--\n So, with a shower of sparks, the pile fell in,\n Reddening the sea around; and all was dark.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nSadly the gods entered Asgard, where no sounds of merriment or\nfeasting were heard, but all hearts were filled with despair, for they\nknew the end was near, and shuddered at the thought of the terrible\nFimbulwinter, which was to herald their death.\n\nFrigga alone cherished some hope, and anxiously watched for the return\nof her messenger, Hermod the swift, who in the mean while had ridden\nover the tremulous bridge, along the dark Hel-way, and on the tenth\nnight had crossed the rushing tide of the river Gi\u00f6ll. Here he was\nchallenged by M\u00f6dgud, who inquired why the Giallar-bridge trembled more\nbeneath his horse\u2019s tread than when a whole army passed, and asked why\nhe, a live man, was attempting to penetrate into the dreaded realm of\nHel.\n\n \u201cWho art thou on thy black and fiery horse\n Under whose hoofs the bridge o\u2019er Giall\u2019s stream\n Rumbles and shakes? Tell me thy race and home.\n But yestermorn five troops of dead pass\u2019d by,\n Bound on their way below to Hela\u2019s realm,\n Nor shook the bridge so much as thou alone.\n And thou hast flesh and color on thy cheeks,\n Like men who live, and draw the vital air;\n Nor look\u2019st thou pale and wan, like man deceased,\n Souls bound below, my daily passers here.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nHermod explained to M\u00f6dgud the reason of his coming, and, having\nascertained that Balder and Nanna had ridden over the bridge before\nhim, he hastened on, until he came to the gate of hell, which rose\nforbiddingly before him.\n\nNothing daunted by this barrier, Hermod dismounted on the smooth ice,\ntightened the girths of his saddle, remounted, and burying his spurs\ndeep into Sleipnir\u2019s sleek sides, he made him take a prodigious leap,\nwhich landed him safely on the other side of Hel-gate.\n\n \u201cThence on he journey\u2019d o\u2019er the fields of ice\n Still north, until he met a stretching wall\n Barring his way, and in the wall a gate.\n Then he dismounted, and drew tight the girths,\n On the smooth ice, of Sleipnir, Odin\u2019s horse,\n And made him leap the gate, and came within.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nRiding onward, Hermod came at last to Hel\u2019s banquet hall, where he\nfound Balder, pale and dejected, lying upon a couch, his wife Nanna\nbeside him, gazing fixedly at the mead before him, which he had no\nheart to drink.\n\n[Sidenote: Result of Hermod\u2019s quest.]\n\nIn vain Hermod informed his brother that he had come to redeem him;\nBalder sadly shook his head, saying that he knew he must remain in this\ncheerless abode until the last day should come, but imploring him to\ntake Nanna back with him, as the home of the shades was no place for\nsuch a bright and beautiful young creature. But when Nanna heard this\nrequest she clung more closely still to her husband\u2019s side, vowing that\nnothing would ever induce her to part from him, and that she would stay\nwith him, even in Nifl-heim, forever.\n\nThe whole night was spent in close conversation, ere Hermod sought Hel\nand implored Balder\u2019s release. The churlish goddess listened silently\nto his request, and finally declared that she would let her victim go\nproviding all things animate and inanimate should prove their sorrow\nfor his loss by shedding a tear.\n\n \u201cCome then! if Balder was so dear beloved,\n And this is true, and such a loss is Heaven\u2019s--\n Hear, how to Heaven may Balder be restored.\n Show me through all the world the signs of grief;\n Fails but one thing to grieve, here Balder stops!\n Let all that lives and moves upon the earth\n Weep him, and all that is without life weep;\n Let Gods, men, brutes, beweep him; plants and stone\n So shall I know the lost was dear indeed,\n And bend my heart, and give him back to Heaven.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nHaving received this answer, the ring Draupnir, which Balder sent back\nto Odin, an embroidered carpet from Nanna for Frigga, and a ring for\nFulla, Hermod cheerfully made his way out of Hel\u2019s dark realm, whence\nhe hoped soon to rescue Balder the good, for well he knew all Nature\nsincerely mourned his departure and would shed unlimited tears to win\nhim back.\n\nThe assembled gods crowded anxiously around him as soon as he returned,\nand when he had delivered his messages and gifts, the \u00c6sir sent out\nheralds to every part of the world to bid all things animate and\ninanimate weep for Balder.\n\n \u201cGo quickly forth through all the world, and pray\n All living and unliving things to weep\n Balder, if haply he may thus be won!\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nThese orders were rapidly carried out, and soon tears hung from every\nplant and tree, the ground was saturated with moisture, and metals and\nstones, in spite of their hard hearts, wept too.\n\nOn their way home the messengers passed a dark cave, in which they saw\nthe crouching form of a giantess named Thok, whom some mythologists\nsuppose to have been Loki in disguise; when they asked her also to shed\na tear, she mocked them and fled into the dark recesses of her cave,\ndeclaring that she would never weep and that Hel might retain her prey\nforever.\n\n \u201cThok she weepeth\n With dry tears\n For Balder\u2019s death--\n Neither in life, nor yet in death,\n Gave he me gladness.\n Let Hel keep her prey.\u201d\n\n ELDER EDDA (Howitt\u2019s version).\n\nAs soon as the returning messengers arrived in Asgard, all the gods\ncrowded around them to know the result of their mission; but their\nfaces, all alight with the joy of anticipation, soon grew dark with\ndespair when they heard that, as one creature refused the tribute of\ntears, they should behold Balder on earth no more.\n\n \u201cBalder, the Beautiful, shall ne\u2019er\n From Hel return to upper air!\n Betrayed by Loki, _twice_ betrayed,\n The prisoner of Death is made;\n Ne\u2019r shall he \u2019scape the place of doom\n Till fatal Ragnarok be come!\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nThe sole consolation left Odin was to fulfill the decree of fate. He\ntherefore departed and achieved the difficult courtship of Rinda, which\nwe have already described. She bore Vali, the Avenger, who, coming into\nAsgard on the very day of his birth, slew Hodur with his sharp arrow.\nThus he punished the murderer of Balder according to the true Northern\ncreed.\n\nThe physical explanation of this myth is either the daily setting of\nthe sun (Balder), which sinks beneath the western waves, driven away by\ndarkness (Hodur), or the end of the short Northern summer and reign of\nthe long winter season. \u201cBalder represents the bright and clear summer,\nwhen twilight and daylight kiss each other and go hand in hand in these\nNorthern latitudes.\u201d\n\n \u201cBalder\u2019s pyre, of the sun a mark,\n Holy hearth red staineth;\n Yet, soon dies its last faint spark,\n Darkly then Hoder reigneth.\u201d\n\n VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\n\u201cHis death by Hodur is the victory of darkness over light, the darkness\nof winter over the light of summer; and the revenge by Vali is the\nbreaking forth of new light after the wintry darkness.\u201d\n\nLoki, the fire, is jealous of the pure light of heaven, Balder, who\nalone among the Northern gods never fought, but was always ready with\nwords of conciliation and peace.\n\n \u201cBut from thy lips, O Balder, night or day,\n Heard no one ever an injurious word\n To God or Hero, but thou keptest back\n The others, laboring to compose their brawls.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nThe tears shed by all things for the beloved god are symbolical of\nthe spring thaw, setting in after the hardness and cold of winter,\nwhen every tree and twig, and even the stones drip with moisture; Thok\n(coal) alone shows no sign of tenderness, as she is buried deep within\nthe dark earth and needs not the light of the sun.\n\n \u201cAnd as in winter, when the frost breaks up,\n At winter\u2019s end, before the spring begins,\n And a warm west wind blows, and thaw sets in--\n After an hour a dripping sound is heard\n In all the forests, and the soft-strewn snow\n Under the trees is dibbled thick with holes,\n And from the boughs the snow loads shuffle down;\n And, in fields sloping to the south, dark plots\n Of grass peep out amid surrounding snow,\n And widen, and the peasant\u2019s heart is glad--\n So through the world was heard a dripping noise\n Of all things weeping to bring Balder back;\n And there fell joy upon the Gods to hear.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nFrom the depths of their underground prison, the sun (Balder) and\nvegetation (Nanna) try to cheer heaven (Odin) and earth (Frigga) by\nsending them the ring Draupnir, the emblem of fertility, and the\nflowery tapestry, symbolical of the carpet of verdure which will again\ndeck the earth and enhance her charms with its beauty.\n\nThe ethical signification of the myth is no less beautiful, for Balder\nand Hodur are symbols of the conflicting forces of good and evil, while\nLoki impersonates the tempter.\n\n \u201cBut in each human soul we find\n That night\u2019s dark Hoder, Balder\u2019s brother blind,\n Is born and waxeth strong as he;\n For blind is ev\u2019ry evil born, as bear cubs be,\n Night is the cloak of evil; but all good\n Hath ever clad in shining garments stood.\n The busy Loke, tempter from of old,\n Still forward treads incessant, and doth hold\n The blind one\u2019s murder hand, whose quick-launch\u2019d spear\n Pierceth young Balder\u2019s breast, that sun of Valhal\u2019s sphere!\u201d\n\n VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\n[Sidenote: Worship of Balder.]\n\nOne of the most important festivals was held at the summer solstice,\nor midsummer\u2019s eve, in honor of Balder the good, for it was considered\nthe anniversary of his death and of his descent into the lower world.\nOn that day, the longest in the year, all the people congregated out\nof doors, made great bonfires, and watched the sun, which in extreme\nNorthern latitudes merely touches the horizon ere it rises upon a new\nday. From midsummer, the days gradually grow shorter, and the sun\u2019s\nrays less warm, until the winter solstice, which was called the \u201cMother\nnight,\u201d as it was the longest in the year. Midsummer\u2019s eve, once\ncelebrated in honor of Balder, is now called St. John\u2019s day, that saint\nhaving entirely supplanted Balder the good.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\nLOKI.\n\n\nBesides the hideous giant Utgard-Loki, the personification of mischief\nand evil, whom Thor and his companions visited in J\u00f6tun-heim, the\nancient Northern nations had another type of sin, whom they called Loki\nalso, and whom we have already seen under many different aspects.\n\nIn the beginning, Loki, who by some mythologists is considered the\nbrother of Odin himself, was only the personification of the hearth\nfire and of the spirit of life. But other authorities assert that Odin\nand Loki were not related, and had merely gone through the Northern\nform of swearing blood brotherhood.\n\n \u201cOdin! dost thou remember\n When we in early days\n Blended our blood together?\n When to taste beer\n Thou dids\u2019t constantly refuse\n Unless to both \u2019twas offered?\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nAt first a god, Loki gradually becomes \u201cgod and devil combined,\u201d and\nends by being an exact counterpart of the medi\u00e6val Lucifer, the prince\nof lies, \u201cthe originator of deceit, and the backbiter\u201d of the \u00c6sir.\n\nWhile Thor is the embodiment of Northern activity, Loki represents\nrecreation, and the close companionship early established between these\ntwo gods shows very plainly how soon our ancestors realized that both\nwere necessary to the welfare of mankind. Thor is ever busy and ever in\ndead earnest, but Loki makes fun of everything, until at last his love\nof mischief leads him entirely astray, and he loses all love for good\nand becomes utterly selfish and malevolent.\n\n[Sidenote: Loki\u2019s Character]\n\nHe represents evil in the seductive and seemingly beautiful form in\nwhich it glides about through the world. On account of this deceptive\nappearance the gods did not at first avoid him, but considered him one\nof their number, took him with them wherever they went, and admitted\nhim not only to their banquets and merrymakings, but also to their\ncouncil hall, where they, unfortunately, too often listened to his\nadvice.\n\nAs we have already seen, Loki played a prominent part in the creation\nof man, endowing him with the power of motion, and causing the blood\nto circulate freely through his veins and inspire him with passions.\nAs personification of fire as well as of mischief, Loki (lightning) is\noften seen with Thor (thunder), whom he accompanies to J\u00f6tun-heim to\nrecover his hammer, to Utgard-Loki\u2019s castle, and to Geirrod\u2019s house. It\nis he who steals Freya\u2019s necklace and Sif\u2019s hair, and betrays Idun into\nthe power of Thiassi; and although he sometimes gives the gods good\nadvice and affords them real help, it is only to extricate them from\nsome predicament into which he has rashly inveigled them.\n\nSome authorities declare that, instead of making part of the creative\ntrilogy (Odin, Hoenir, and Lodur or Loki), this god originally\nbelonged to a pre-Odinic race of deities, and was the son of the\ngreat giant Fornjotnr (Ymir), his brothers being Kari (air) and Hler\n(water), and his sister Ran, the terrible goddess of the sea. Other\nmythologists, however, make him the son of the giant Farbauti, who has\nbeen identified with Bergelmir, the sole survivor of the deluge, and\nof Laufeia (leafy isle) or Nal (vessel), his mother, thus stating that\nhis connection with Odin was only that of the Northern oath of good\nfellowship.\n\nLoki (fire) first married Glut (glow), who bore him two daughters,\nEisa (embers) and Einmyria (ashes); it is therefore very evident that\nNorsemen considered him emblematic of the hearth fire, and when the\nflaming wood crackles on the hearth the good-wives in the North are\nstill wont to say that Loki is beating his children. Besides this\nwife, Loki is also said to have married the giantess Angur-boda (the\nanguish-boding), who dwelt in J\u00f6tun-heim, and, as we have already seen,\nbore him the three monsters, Hel, goddess of death, the Midgard snake\nI\u00f6rmungandr, and the grim wolf Fenris.\n\n \u201cLoki begat the wolf\n With Angur-boda.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: Sigyn.]\n\nLoki\u2019s third marriage was with Sigyn, who proved a most loving and\ndevoted wife, and bore him two sons, Narve and Vali, the latter a\nnamesake of the god who avenged Balder. Sigyn was always faithful to\nher husband, never forsook him, and stood beside him even after he had\ndefinitely been cast out of Asgard and bound in punishment for his sins.\n\nAs Loki was the embodiment of evil in the minds of the Northern races,\nthey felt nothing but fear of him, built no temples in his honor,\noffered no sacrifices to him, and designated the most noxious weeds\nby his name. The quivering, overheated atmosphere of summer was also\nsupposed to betoken his presence, for the people were then wont to\nremark that Loki was sowing his oats, and when the sun drew water they\nsaid Loki was drinking.\n\nThe story of Loki is so inextricably woven in with that of the other\ngods that most of the myths relating to him have already been told,\nand there remain but two episodes of his life to relate, one showing\nhis good side before he had degenerated into the arch deceiver, and\nthe other illustrating how he finally induced the gods to defile their\npeace steads by willful murder.\n\n[Sidenote: Skrymsli and the peasant\u2019s child.]\n\nA giant and a peasant were playing a game together one day (probably a\ngame of chess, which was a favorite winter pastime with the Northern\nvikings). They of course determined to play for certain stakes, and\nthe giant, coming off victor, won the peasant\u2019s only son, whom he said\nhe would come and claim on the morrow unless the parents could hide\nhim so cleverly that he could not find him.\n\n[Illustration: LOKI AND SIGYN.--Carl Gebhardt.]\n\nKnowing that such a feat would be impossible for them to perform, the\nparents fervently prayed Odin to help them, and in answer to these\nentreaties the god came down to earth, took the boy, and changed him\ninto a tiny grain of wheat, which he hid in an ear of grain in the\nmidst of a large field, declaring that the giant would never find him.\nThe giant Skrymsli, however, was very wise indeed, and, failing to find\nthe child at home, strode off to the field with his scythe, mowed down\nthe grain, and selected the particular ear where the boy was hidden.\nCounting over the grains of wheat he was about to lay his hand upon\nthe right one when Odin, hearing the child\u2019s cry of distress, suddenly\nsnatched the kernel out of the giant\u2019s hand, and restored the boy to\nhis parents, telling them that he had done all in his power to help\nthem. But, as the giant vowed he had been cheated, and would claim his\nprey on the morrow unless the parents could outwit him, the unfortunate\npeasants now applied to Hoenir. He changed the boy into a bit of\ndown, which he hid in the breast of a swan swimming in a pond close\nby. Skrymsli, the giant, coming up a few minutes later, and guessing\nwhat had occurred, caught the swan, bit off its neck, and would have\nswallowed the down, had not Hoenir interfered, wafted it away from his\nlips and out of reach, restoring the boy safe and sound to his parents,\nbut warning them that he could never aid them again.\n\nSkrymsli having told the parents that he would make a third attempt\nto secure the child, they now applied in despair to Loki, who carried\nthe boy out to sea, and concealed him, as a tiny egg, in the roe of a\nflounder. Returning from his expedition, Loki encountered the giant\nnear the shore, and seeing he was bent upon a fishing excursion,\ninsisted upon accompanying him to interfere in case of need. Skrymsli\nbaited his hook, angled awhile, caught several fishes, and finally\ndrew up the identical flounder in which Loki had concealed his little\ncharge. Opening the fish upon his knee, the giant proceeded to count\nover every egg in the roe, until he found the one which he was\nseeking; but Loki snatched it out of his grasp, set the child ashore,\nand secretly bade him run home, passing through the boathouse and\nclosing the door behind him. The terrified boy obeyed, and the giant,\nin close pursuit, dashed into the boathouse, where Loki had cunningly\nplaced a sharp spike, which pierced his head. The giant sank to the\nground with a groan, and Loki, seeing him helpless, cut off one of his\nlegs. Imagine the god\u2019s dismay, however, when he saw the pieces join\nand immediately knit together. Recognizing that magic was at work, Loki\ncut off the other leg, promptly throwing flint and steel between the\nsevered limb and trunk, and thereby hindering any further sorcery. The\npeasants, perceiving that their enemy was slain by Loki\u2019s agency, ever\nafter considered this god the mightiest of all the heavenly council,\nfor he had delivered them from their foe forever, while the others had\nonly lent temporary aid.\n\n[Sidenote: The giant architect.]\n\nIn spite of Bifr\u00f6st, the tremulous way, and of the watchfulness of\nHeimdall, the gods could not feel entirely secure in Asgard, and were\noften afraid lest the frost giants should make their way into their\nmidst. To obviate this possibility, they finally decided to build\nan impregnable fortress; and while they were planning how this work\ncould be executed, an unknown architect appeared among them, offering\nto undertake the construction, provided the gods would give him sun,\nmoon, and Freya, goddess of youth and beauty, as reward. The gods were\nat first inclined to demur; but, urged by Loki, they finally told the\narchitect that the guerdon should be his, provided the fortress were\nfinished in the course of a single winter, and that he accomplished the\nwork with no other assistance than that of his horse Svadilfare.\n\n \u201cTo Asgard came an architect,\n And castle offered to erect,--\n A castle high\n Which should defy\n Deep J\u00f6tun guile and giant raid;\n And this most wily compact made:\n Fair Freya, with the Moon and Sun,\n As price the fortress being done.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nThe unknown architect submitted to these conditions, and immediately\nbegan his work, hauling ponderous blocks of stone by night, building\nduring the day, and advancing so rapidly that the gods\u2019 attention was\nattracted to the work. Ere long they perceived that more than half the\nlabor was accomplished by the wonderful steed Svadilfare, and trembled\nwhen they saw, near the end of winter, that the work was all finished\nexcept one portal, which they knew the architect could easily erect\nduring the night.\n\n \u201cHorror and fear the gods beset;\n Finished almost the castle stood!\n In three days more\n The work be o\u2019er;\n Then must they make their contract good,\n And pay the awful debt.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nTerrified lest they should be called upon to part, not only with the\nsun and moon, but also with Freya, the personification of all the\nyouth and beauty of the world, the gods sought Loki, and threatened to\nkill him unless he devised some means of hindering the architect from\nfinishing the work within the specified time.\n\nChanging himself into a mare, at nightfall, Loki rushed out of the\nforest, and neighed invitingly as Svadilfare passed by, painfully\ndragging one of the great blocks of stone required for the termination\nof the work. In a trice the horse kicked his harness to pieces and ran\nafter the mare, closely pursued by his angry and gesticulating master.\nLoki, the mare, artfully lured horse and master deeper and deeper into\nthe forest, until the night was nearly gone, and it was impossible to\nfinish the work. Discovering the fraud, the architect (a redoubtable\nHrim-thurs, in disguise) now returned to Asgard in a towering rage,\nand, assuming his wonted proportions, would have annihilated all the\ngods had not Thor suddenly confronted him, and slain him by hurling\nhis magic hammer Mi\u00f6lnir full in his face.\n\nThe gods having saved themselves on this occasion only through fraud\nand by perjury, this murder brought great sorrows upon them, and\neventually brought about their downfall and hastened the coming of\nRagnarok. Loki, however, felt no remorse for what he had done, and\nin due time it is said he became the parent of an eight-footed steed\ncalled Sleipnir, which, as we have seen, was Odin\u2019s favorite mount.\n\n \u201cBut Sleipnir he begat\n With Svadilfari.\u201d\n\n LAY OF HYNDLA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.)\n\nLoki performed so many evil deeds during his career that he richly\ndeserved the title of \u201carch deceiver\u201d which was given him. He was\ngenerally hated for his subtle malicious ways, and for an inveterate\nhabit of prevarication which won for him also the title of \u201cprince of\nlies.\u201d\n\n[Sidenote: Loki\u2019s last crime.]\n\nThe last crime which he committed, and the one which filled his measure\nof iniquity, was to induce Hodur to throw the fatal mistletoe at\nBalder, whom he hated merely on account of his immaculate purity. Had\nit not been for his obduracy as Thok, perhaps even this crime might\nhave been condoned; but the gods, seeing that nothing but evil remained\nwithin him, refused to allow him to remain in Asgard, and unanimously\npronounced the sentence of perpetual banishment upon him.\n\nTo divert the gods\u2019 sadness and make them, for a short time, forget the\ntreachery of Loki and the loss of Balder, \u00c6gir, god of the sea, invited\nthem all to partake of a banquet in his coral caves at the bottom of\nthe sea.\n\n \u201cNow, to assuage the high gods\u2019 grief\n And bring their mourning some relief,\n From coral caves\n \u2019Neath ocean waves,\n Mighty King \u00c6gir\n Invited the \u00c6sir\n To festival\n In Hlesey\u2019s hall;\n That, tho\u2019 for Baldur every guest\n Was grieving yet,\n He might forget\n Awhile his woe in friendly feast.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nThe gods gladly accepted the invitation, and donning their richest\ngarb, and wreathing their faces with festive smiles, they appeared in\nthe coral caves at the appointed time. All were present except the\nradiant Balder, for whom they heaved many a regretful sigh, and the\nevil Loki, whom none could regret. In the course of the feast, however,\nthis last-named god appeared in their midst like a dark shadow, and\nwhen told to depart, gave vent to his rage by vilifying all the gods.\n\n \u201cOf the \u00c6sir and the Alfar\n That are here within\n Not one has a friendly word for thee.\u201d\n\n \u00c6GIR\u2019S COMPOTATION, OR LOKI\u2019S ALTERCATION (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nThen, jealous of the praises which Funfeng, \u00c6gir\u2019s servant, had won\nfor the dexterity with which he waited upon the guests, Loki suddenly\nturned all his wrath upon him and slew him. The gods, indignant at this\nwanton crime, drove Loki away once more, sternly bidding him never\nappear before them again.\n\nScarcely had the \u00c6sir recovered from this disagreeable interruption\nto their feast, and resumed their places at the board, when Loki came\ncreeping in once more, and with venomous tongue resumed his slanders,\ntaunting all the gods with their weaknesses or shortcomings, dwelling\nmaliciously upon their physical imperfections, and deriding them for\ntheir mistakes. In vain the gods tried to stem his abuse; his voice\nrose louder and louder, and he was just uttering some base slander\nabout Sif, when Thor suddenly appeared, angrily brandishing his\nhammer, at the mere sight of which Loki fled.\n\n \u201cSilence, thou impure being!\n My mighty hammer, Mi\u00f6llnir,\n Shall stop thy prating.\n I will thy head\n From thy neck strike;\n Then will thy life be ended.\u201d\n\n \u00c6GIR\u2019S COMPOTATION, OR LOKI\u2019S ALTERCATION (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nKnowing that he had now lost all hope of ever being admitted into\nAsgard again, and that sooner or later the gods, seeing the ripening\nof the crop of evil he had sown, would regret having permitted him to\nroam about the world, and would try either to bind or slay him, Loki\nwithdrew to the mountains, where he built himself a hut with four\ndoors, which he always left wide open to permit his hasty escape.\nCarefully laying his plans, he decided that if the gods ever came in\nsearch of him he would rush down to the neighboring cataract which is\nsaid to have been the Fraananger force or stream, and, changing himself\ninto a salmon, would escape all pursuit. He reasoned, however, that,\nalthough he could easily avoid any hook, it would be difficult for him\nto effect an escape were the gods to fashion a net like that of the\nsea-goddess Ran.\n\nHaunted by this thought, he wondered if such an implement could be\nmanufactured, and began to make one out of twine. He had not quite\nfinished his work when Odin, Kvasir, and Thor suddenly appeared in the\ndistance; and knowing they had discovered his retreat, and were about\nto come and make him a prisoner, Loki threw his half-finished net into\nthe fire, and, rushing out, jumped into the waterfall, where, in the\nshape of a salmon, he hid among the stones.\n\nThe gods, finding the hut empty, were about to depart, when Kvasir\nperceived the remains of the burned net on the hearth, and, examining\nthem closely, advised the gods to weave a similar implement and use it\nin searching for their foe in the neighboring stream. This advice was\nimmediately followed, and, the net finished, the gods proceeded to drag\nthe stream. Loki eluded them the first time by hiding at the bottom\nof the river between two stones; but when the gods weighted the net\nand tried a second time, he effected his escape by jumping up stream.\nA third attempt to secure him proved successful, however, for, as he\nonce more tried to get away by a sudden leap, Thor caught and held him\nso fast, that he could not escape. The salmon, whose slipperiness has\nbecome proverbial in the North, is noted for its remarkably slim tail,\nwhich the people attribute to Thor\u2019s tight grasp upon his foe.\n\n[Sidenote: Loki\u2019s punishment.]\n\nThe gods, having thus secured Loki and forced him to resume his wonted\nshape, dragged him down into a cavern, where they made him fast,\nusing as bonds the entrails of his son Narve, who had been torn to\npieces by his brother Vali, whom the gods had changed into a wolf for\nthis express purpose. One of these fetters was passed under Loki\u2019s\nshoulders, and one under his loins; when he was securely bound, hand\nand foot, the gods, fearing lest these fetters might give way, changed\nthem into adamant or iron.\n\n \u201cThee, on a rock\u2019s point,\n With the entrails of thy ice-cold son,\n The gods will bind.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nSkadi, the giantess, a personification of the cold mountain stream, who\nhad joyfully watched the fettering of her foe (subterranean fire), then\nfastened a venomous serpent directly over his head, so that the poison\nwould fall, drop by drop, upon his upturned face. But Sigyn, Loki\u2019s\nfaithful wife, hurried with a cup to his side, gathered up the drops\nas they fell, and never left her post except when her vessel was full\nand she was obliged to empty it. During her short absence the drops\nof venom, falling upon Loki\u2019s face, caused such intense pain that he\nwrithed with anguish, shaking all the earth in his efforts to get free,\nand producing the earthquakes which so frighten mortals.\n\n \u201cEre they left him in his anguish,\n O\u2019er his treacherous brow, ungrateful,\n Skadi hung a serpent hateful,\n Venom drops for aye distilling,\n Every nerve with torment filling;\n Thus shall he in horror languish.\n By him, still unwearied kneeling,\n Sigyn at his tortured side,--\n Faithful wife! with beaker stealing\n Drops of venom as they fall,--\n Agonizing poison all!\n Sleepless, changeless, ever dealing\n Comfort, will she still abide;\n Only when the cup\u2019s o\u2019erflowing\n Must fresh pain and smarting cause,\n Swift, to void the beaker going,\n Shall she in her watching pause.\n Then doth Loki\n Loudly cry;\n Shrieks of terror,\n Groans of horror,\n Breaking forth in thunder peals!\n With his writhings scared Earth reels.\n Trembling and quaking,\n E\u2019en high Heav\u2019n shaking!\n So wears he out his awful doom,\n Until dread Ragnarok be come.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nIn this painful position Loki was condemned to remain until the\ntwilight of the gods, when his bonds would be loosed, and he would be\nfree to take part in the last conflict, on the battlefield of Vigrid,\nwhere he was destined to fall by the hand of Heimdall, who would be\nslain at the same time.\n\nAs we have seen, the venom-dropping snake in this myth is the cold\nmountain stream, whose waters, falling from time to time upon the\nsubterranean fire, evaporate, and the steam, escaping through fissures,\nproduces the earthquakes and geysers with which the inhabitants of\nIceland, for instance, were so familiar.\n\n[Illustration: NORWEGIAN WATERFALL.]\n\nWhen the gods were all reduced to the rank of demons by the\nintroduction of Christianity, Loki was confounded with Saturn, who had\nalso been shorn of all his divine attributes, and both were considered\nthe prototypes of Satan. The last day of the week, which was held\nsacred to Loki, was known in the Norse as Laugardag, or wash day, but\nin English it was changed to Saturday, and was said to owe its name not\nto Saturn but to Sataere, the thief in ambush, and the Teutonic god of\nagriculture, who is supposed to be merely another form of the god Loki.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\n\nTHE GIANTS.\n\n\nAs we have already seen, the Northern races imagined that the giants\nwere the first creatures who came to life among the icebergs filling\nthe vast abyss of Ginnunga-gap. These giants were from the very\nbeginning the opponents and rivals of the gods, and as the latter\nwere the personifications of all that is good and lovely, the former\nnaturally served to denote all that was ugly and evil.\n\n[Sidenote: J\u00f6tun-heim.]\n\nSlain by the gods, Ymir, the first giant, fell lifeless on the ice,\ndrowning all his progeny in his blood. One couple only, Bergelmir\nand his wife, effected their escape to the confines of the world,\nJ\u00f6tun-heim, where they took up their abode and became the parents of\nall the giant race. In the North the giants were called by various\nnames, each having a particular meaning. J\u00f6tun, for instance, meant\n\u201cthe great eater,\u201d for the giants were noted for their enormous\nappetites as well as for their uncommon size. As they were fond of\ndrinking as well as of eating, they were also called Thurses, a word\nwhich some writers claim had the same meaning as thirst, while others\nthink they owed this name to the high towers (\u201cturseis\u201d) which they\nwere supposed to have built. As the giants were antagonistic to the\ngods, the latter always strove to keep them at a distance, and drove\nthem away into J\u00f6tun-heim, in the cold regions of the pole, where they\ncondemned them to remain. The giants were almost invariably worsted in\ntheir encounters with the gods, for they were heavy and slow witted,\nand had nothing but stone weapons to oppose the \u00c6sir\u2019s bronze. In\nspite of this inequality, however, they were sometimes greatly envied\nby the gods, for they were thoroughly conversant with all knowledge\nrelating to the past. Odin himself was envious of this acquirement, and\nno sooner had he secured it by a draught from Mimir\u2019s spring than he\nhastened off to J\u00f6tun-heim to measure himself against Vafthrudnir, the\nmost learned of the giant band. But he would never have succeeded in\ndefeating his antagonist in this strange encounter had he not ceased\ninquiring about the past and propounded a question relating to the\nfuture.\n\nOf all the gods Thor was the most feared by the J\u00f6tuns, for he was\ncontinually waging war against the frost and mountain giants, who would\nfain have hindered agriculture and bound the earth forever in their\nrigid bands. In fighting against them, Thor, as we have already seen,\ngenerally had recourse to his crashing hammer Mi\u00f6lnir, with which he\nreduced them to powder.\n\n[Sidenote: Origin of the mountains.]\n\nThe Germans fancied that the uneven surface of the earth was due to\nthe giants, who, treading upon it while it was still soft and newly\ncreated, marred its smoothness, while the giantesses, seeing the\nvalleys made by their huge footprints, shed copious tears, which formed\nthe streams. As such was the Teutonic belief, the people imagined that\nthe giants, who were their personifications of the mountains, were\nhuge uncouth creatures, who could only move about in the darkness or\nfog, and were petrified as soon as the first rays of sunlight pierced\nthrough the gloom or scattered the clouds.\n\nThis belief made them call one of their principal mountain chains the\nRiesengebirge (giant mountains). The Scandinavians also shared this\nbelief, and to this day the Icelanders designate their highest mountain\npeaks by the name of Jokul, a modification of the word \u201cJ\u00f6tun.\u201d In\nSwitzerland, where the everlasting snows rest upon the lofty mountain\ntops, the people still relate old stories of the time when the giants\nroamed abroad; and when an avalanche comes crashing down the mountain\nside, they say the giants have restlessly shaken off part of the icy\nburden from their brows and shoulders.\n\nAs the giants were also personifications of snow, ice, cold, stone,\nand subterranean fire, they were all said to be descended from the\nprimitive Fornjotnr, whom some authorities identify with Ymir.\nAccording to this version of the myth, Fornjotnr had three sons: Hler,\nthe sea; Kari, the air; and Loki, fire. These three divinities were the\nfirst gods, formed the oldest trinity, and their respective descendants\nwere the sea giants Mimir, Gymir, and Grendel, the storm giants\nThiassi, Thrym, and Beli, and the giants of fire and death, such as the\nFenris wolf and Hel.\n\nAs all the royal dynasties claimed descent from some mythical being,\nthe Merovingians asserted that their first progenitor was a sea giant,\nwho rose up out of the waves in the form of an ox, surprised the queen\nwhile she was walking alone on the seashore, and induced her to become\nhis wife. She gave birth to a son named Meroveus, the founder of the\nfirst dynasty of Frankish kings.\n\nMany stories have already been told about the most important giants.\nThey reappear in many of the later myths and fairy-tales, and manifest,\nafter the introduction of Christianity, a peculiar dislike to the sound\nof church bells and the singing of the monks and nuns.\n\n[Sidenote: The giant in love.]\n\nThe Scandinavians relate, in this connection, that in the days of Olaf\nthe Saint a giant called Senjemand, who dwelt on the Island of Senjen,\nwas greatly incensed because a nun on the Island of Grypto daily sang\nher morning hymn. The sound of this singing troubled his daydreams, for\nhe had fallen in love with a beautiful maiden called Juternajesta, and\nwas trying to gain courage to propose to her. When he made his halting\nrequest, however, the fair damsel scornfully rejected him, declaring\nthat he was far too old and ugly to suit her taste.\n\n \u201cMiserable Senjemand--ugly and gray!\n Thou win the maid of Kvedfiord!\n No--a churl thou art and shalt ever remain.\u201d\n\n BALLAD (Brace\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Illustration: TORGHATTEN, NORWAY.]\n\nIn his anger at being thus scornfully refused, the giant swore\nvengeance, and soon after he shot a great stone arrow from his bow\nat the maiden, who dwelt eighty miles away. Her lover, Torge, also\na giant, seeing her peril and wishing to protect her, flung his\nhat at the speeding arrow. This hat was a thousand feet high and\nproportionately broad and thick, but a collision with it only spent the\nforce of the arrow, which, piercing the giant\u2019s headgear, fell short\nof its aim. Senjemand, seeing he had failed, and fearing the wrath\nof Torge, mounted his steed and prepared to ride away as quickly as\npossible; but the sun, rising above the horizon just then, turned him\ninto stone, as well as the arrow and Torge\u2019s hat, which is now known as\nthe Torghatten mountain. The people still point out the stone arrow,--a\nhuge obelisk,--the hole in the mountain, which is 289 feet high and\n88 feet wide, and the horseman on Senjen Island, apparently riding a\ncolossal steed and drawing the folds of his wide cavalry cloak closely\nabout him. As for the nun whose singing had so disturbed Senjemand\nthat he could not propose properly, she was petrified too, and never\ntroubled any one with her psalmody again.\n\n[Sidenote: The giant and the church bells.]\n\nAnother legend relates that one of the mountain giants, annoyed by\nthe ringing of church bells more than fifty miles away, once caught\nup a huge rock, which he hurled at the sacred building, but which\nfortunately fell short and broke in two. Ever since then, on Christmas\neve, the peasants report that the trolls have come to raise the largest\npiece of stone upon golden pillars, and to dance and feast beneath it.\nA lady, wishing to know whether this tale were true, once sent her\ngroom to the place. The trolls came forward and hospitably offered him\na drink in a horn mounted in gold and ornamented with runes. Seizing\nthe horn, the groom flung its contents away and dashed off at a mad\ngallop, closely pursued by all the trolls, from whom he escaped only by\npassing through a stubble field and over running water. A deputation of\ntrolls visited the lady on the morrow to claim this horn, and when she\nrefused to part with it they laid a curse upon her, declaring that her\ncastle would burn down every time the horn was removed. This prediction\nhas thrice been fulfilled, and now the family guard their horn with\nsuperstitious care. A similar drinking vessel, obtained in much the\nsame fashion by the Oldenburg family, is exhibited in the collection of\nthe King of Denmark.\n\nThe giants were not supposed to remain stationary, but were said to\nmove about in the darkness, sometimes transporting masses of earth and\nsand, which they dropped here and there, thus forming the sandhills in\nnorthern Germany and Denmark.\n\n[Sidenote: The giants\u2019 ship.]\n\nA North Frisian tradition relates that the giants also possessed a\ncolossal ship, called Mannigfual, which constantly cruised about in\nthe Atlantic Ocean. Such was the size of this vessel that the captain\nwas said to pace the deck on horseback. The rigging was so extensive\nand the masts so high that the sailors who went up as youths came down\nas gray-haired men, having rested and refreshed themselves in rooms\nfashioned and provisioned for that purpose in the huge blocks and\npulleys.\n\nBy some mischance it happened that the pilot once directed this immense\nvessel into the North Sea, and wishing to return to the Atlantic as\nsoon as possible, yet not daring to turn around in such a small space,\nhe steered into the English Channel. Imagine the dismay of all on board\nwhen they saw the passage grow narrower and narrower the farther they\nadvanced. When they came to the narrowest spot, between Calais and\nDover, it seemed barely possible that the vessel, drifting along with\nthe current, could force its way through. The captain, with laudable\npresence of mind, promptly bade his men soap the sides of the vessel,\nlaying an extra-thick layer on the starboard, where the rugged Dover\ncliffs threateningly rose. These orders were no sooner carried out\nthan the vessel entered the narrow space, and, thanks to the captain\u2019s\nprecaution, it slipped safely through. The rocks of Dover scraped off\nso much soap, however, that ever since then they have been very white\nindeed, and the waves dashing against them still have a particularly\nfoamy appearance.\n\nThis exciting experience was not the only one which the Mannigfual\npassed through, for we are told that it once, nobody knows how,\npenetrated into the Baltic Sea, where, the water not being deep enough\nto keep the vessel afloat, the captain ordered all the ballast thrown\noverboard. Such was the amount of material thus cast on either side\nthe vessel into the sea that it formed the two islands of Bornholm and\nChristianso\u00eb.\n\n[Sidenote: Princess Ilse.]\n\nIn Thuringia and in the Black Forest the stories of the giants are very\nnumerous indeed, and the peasants delight in telling about Ilse, the\nlovely daughter of the giant of the Ilsenstein. She was so charming\nthat she was known far and wide as the beautiful Princess Ilse, and\nwas wooed by many knights, among whom she preferred the lord of\nWesterburg. But her father did not at all approve of her consorting\nwith a mere mortal, and forbade her seeing her lover. Princess Ilse was\nwillful, and in spite of his prohibitions she daily visited her lover.\nThe giant, exasperated by her persistency and disobedience, finally\nstretched out his huge hands and, seizing the rocks, tore a great\ngap between the height where he dwelt and the castle of Westerburg.\nPrincess Ilse, perceiving the cleft which parted her from her lover,\nrecklessly flung herself over the precipice into the raging flood\nbeneath, where she was changed into a bewitching undine. She dwelt\nhere in the limpid waters for many a year, appearing from time to\ntime to exercise her fascinations upon mortals, and even, it is said,\ncaptivating the affections of the Emperor Henry, who paid frequent\nvisits to her cascade. Her last appearance, according to popular\nbelief, was at Pentecost, a hundred years ago; and the natives have not\nyet ceased to look for the beautiful princess, who is said still to\nhaunt the stream and wave her white arms to entice travelers into the\ncool spray of the waterfall.\n\n \u201cI am the Princess Ilse,\n And I dwell at the Ilsenstein;\n Come with me to my castle,\n And bliss shall be mine and thine.\n\n \u201cWith the cool of my glass-clear waters\n Thy brow and thy locks I\u2019ll lave;\n And thou\u2019lt think of thy sorrows no longer,\n For all that thou look\u2019st so grave.\n\n \u201cWith my white arms twined around thee,\n And lapped on my breast so white,\n Thou shalt lie, and dream of elf-land--\n Its loves and wild delight.\u201d\n\n HEINE (Martin\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: The giant\u2019s plaything.]\n\nThe giants inhabited all the earth before it was given to mankind;\nthey very reluctantly made way for the human race, and retreated into\nthe waste and barren parts of the country, where they brought up\ntheir families in strict seclusion. Such was the ignorance of their\noffspring, that a young giantess, straying away from home, once came\nto an inhabited valley, where for the first time in her life she saw\na farmer plowing on the hillside. Deeming him a pretty plaything, she\ncaught him up with his team, thrust them into her apron, and gleefully\ncarried them home to exhibit them to her father. But the giant\nimmediately bade her carry peasant and horses back to the place where\nshe had found them, and when she had done so he sadly explained that\nthe creatures whom she took for mere playthings, would eventually drive\nall the giant folk away, and become masters of all the earth.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\n\nTHE DWARFS.\n\n\nIn the first chapter we saw how the black elves, dwarfs, or\nSvart-alfar, were bred like maggots in the flesh of the slain giant\nYmir. The gods, perceiving these tiny, unformed creatures creeping\nin and out, gave them form and features, calling them dark elves on\naccount of their swarthy complexions. These small beings were so\nhomely, with their dark skin, green eyes, large heads, short legs, and\ncrow\u2019s feet, that they were told to hide underground and never show\nthemselves during the daytime under penalty of being turned into stone.\nAlthough less powerful than the gods, they were far more intelligent\nthan men, and as their knowledge was boundless and extended even to the\nfuture, gods and men were equally anxious to question them.\n\nThey were also known as trolls, kobolds, brownies, goblins, pucks, or\nHuldra folk, according to the country where they dwelt.\n\n \u201cYou are the gray, gray Troll,\n With the great green eyes,\n But I love you, gray, gray Troll--\n You are so wise!\n\n \u201cTell me this sweet morn,\n Tell me all you know--\n Tell me, was I born?\n Tell me, did I grow?\u201d\n\n THE LEGEND OF THE LITTLE FAY (Buchanan).\n\n[Sidenote: The Tarnkappe.]\n\nThese dwarfs could transport themselves with marvelous celerity from\none place to another, loved to conceal themselves behind rocks, and\nmischievously repeated the last words of every conversation they\noverheard. Owing to this well-known trick, the echoes were called\ndwarfs\u2019 talk, and people fancied that the reason why they were never\nseen was because each dwarf was the proud possessor of a tiny red cap\nwhich made the wearer invisible. This cap was called Tarnkappe, and it\nwas owing to it only that the dwarfs dared appear above the surface of\nthe earth after sunrise without fear of being petrified.\n\n \u201cAway! let not the sun view me--\n I dare no longer stay;\n An Elfin-child, thou wouldst me see,\n To stone turn at his ray.\u201d\n\n LA MOTTE-FOUQU\u00c9.\n\n[Sidenote: The magic of the dwarfs.]\n\nThe dwarfs as well as the elves were ruled by a king, who, in various\ncountries of northern Europe, was known as Andvari, Alberich, Elbegast,\nGondemar, Laurin, or Oberon. He dwelt in a magnificent subterranean\npalace, all studded with the gems which his subjects had drawn from the\nbosom of the earth, and, besides untold riches and the Tarnkappe, he\nowned a magic ring, an invincible sword, and a belt of strength. At his\ncommand his subjects, who were very clever smiths, fashioned marvelous\njewels or weapons, which he bestowed upon favorite mortals.\n\nWe have already seen how the dwarfs fashioned Sif\u2019s golden hair, the\nship Skidbladnir, the point of Odin\u2019s spear Gungnir, the ring Draupnir,\nthe golden-bristled boar Gullin-bursti, the hammer Mi\u00f6lnir, and Freya\u2019s\ngolden necklace Brisinga-men. They are also said to have made the magic\ngirdle which Spenser describes in his poem of the \u201cFaerie Queene,\u201d--a\ngirdle which was said to have the power of revealing whether the wearer\nwere virtuous or a hypocrite.\n\n \u201cThat girdle gave the virtue of chaste love\n And wifehood true to all that did it bear;\n But whosoever contrary doth prove\n Might not the same about her middle wear\n But it would loose, or else asunder tear.\u201d\n\n FAERIE QUEENE (Spenser).\n\nThe dwarfs also manufactured the mythical sword Tyrfing, which\ncould cut through iron and stone, and which they gave to Angantyr.\nThis sword, like Frey\u2019s, fought of its own accord, and could not be\nsheathed, after it was once drawn, until it had tasted blood. Angantyr\nwas so proud of this weapon that he had it buried with him; but his\ndaughter Hervor visited his tomb at midnight, recited magic spells, and\nforced him to rise from his grave to give her the precious blade. She\nwielded it bravely, and it eventually became the property of another of\nthe Northern heroes.\n\nThe dwarfs were generally kindly and helpful; sometimes they kneaded\nbread, ground flour, brewed beer, performed countless household tasks,\nand harvested and threshed the grain for the farmers. If ill treated,\nhowever, or turned into ridicule, these little creatures forsook\nthe house and never came back again. When the old gods ceased to be\nworshiped in the Northlands, the dwarfs entirely withdrew from the\ncountry, and a ferryman once said that he had been hired to ply his\nboat back and forth across the river one night, and that at every trip\nhis vessel was so laden down with invisible passengers that it nearly\nsank. When his night\u2019s work was over, he received a rich reward, and\nhis employer informed him that he had helped all the dwarfs across the\nriver, for they were leaving the country forever to punish the people\nfor their unbelief.\n\n[Sidenote: Changelings.]\n\nAccording to popular superstition, the dwarfs envied man\u2019s taller\nstature and often tried to improve their race by winning human wives or\nby stealing unbaptized children, and substituting their own offspring\nfor the human mother to nurse. These dwarf babies were known as\nchangelings, and were recognizable by their puny and wizened forms.\nTo recover possession of her own babe, and to rid herself of the\nchangeling, a woman was obliged either to brew beer in egg-shells\nor to grease the soles of the child\u2019s feet and hold them so near the\nflames that, attracted by their offspring\u2019s distressed cries, the dwarf\nparents would hasten to claim their own and return the stolen child.\n\nThe female trolls were also said to have the power of changing\nthemselves into Maras or nightmares, and of tormenting any one they\npleased; but if the victim succeeded in stopping up the hole through\nwhich a Mara made her ingress into his room, she was entirely at his\nmercy, and he could even force her to marry him if he chose to do so.\nA wife thus obtained was sure to remain as long as the opening through\nwhich she had entered the house was closed, but if the plug were\nremoved, either by accident or design, she immediately effected her\nescape and never returned.\n\n[Sidenote: A conjecture.]\n\nSome writers have ventured a conjecture that the dwarfs so often\nmentioned in the ancient sagas and fairy-tales were real beings,\nprobably the Ph\u0153nician miners, who, working the coal, iron, copper,\ngold, and tin mines of England, Norway, Sweden, etc., took advantage\nof the simplicity and credulity of the early inhabitants to make them\nbelieve that they belonged to a supernatural race and always dwelt\nunderground, in a region which was called Svart-alfa-heim, or the home\nof the black elves.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV.\n\nTHE ELVES.\n\n\nBesides the dwarfs there was another numerous class of tiny creatures\ncalled Lios-alfar, light or white elves, who inhabited the realms of\nair between heaven and earth, had their palace in Alf-heim, and were\ngently governed by the genial god Frey. They were lovely, beneficent\nbeings, so pure and innocent that, according to some authorities,\ntheir name was derived from the same root as the Latin word \u201cwhite\u201d\n(_albus_), which, in a modified form, was given to the Alps, those\nsnow-covered mountains, and to Albion (England), because of her white\nchalk cliffs which could be seen from afar.\n\n[Illustration: DANCE OF THE WILL-O\u2019-THE-WISPS.--W. Kray.]\n\nThe elves were so small that they could flit about unseen to care for\nthe flowers, birds, and butterflies; and as they were passionately\nfond of dancing, they often slipped down to earth on a moonbeam, to\ndance on the green. Holding one another by the hand, they danced round\nin circles, thereby making the \u201cfairy rings,\u201d which could easily be\ndiscovered, as the grass grew greener and more luxuriant in the places\ntheir little feet had trod.\n\n \u201cMerry elves, their morrice pacing\n To a\u00ebrial minstrelsy,\n Emerald rings on brown heath tracing,\n Trip it deft and merrily.\u201d\n\n WALTER SCOTT.\n\nIf any mortal stood in the middle of one of these fairy rings he could,\naccording to the popular belief in England, see the fairies and enjoy\ntheir favor; but the Germans and Scandinavians vowed that the unhappy\nman must die. In connection with this superstition, they tell how Sir\nOlaf, riding off to his wedding, was enticed by the fairies into their\nring. On the morrow, instead of a merry marriage, his friends witnessed\na triple funeral, for his mother and bride both died of grief when they\nbeheld his lifeless corpse.\n\n \u201cMaster Olof rode forth ere dawn of the day\n And came where the Elf folk were dancing away.\n The dance is so merry,\n So merry in the greenwood.\n\n \u201cAnd on the next morn, ere the daylight was red,\n In Master Olof\u2019s house lay three corpses dead.\n The dance is so merry,\n So merry in the greenwood.\n\n \u201cFirst Master Olof, and next his young bride,\n And third his old mother--for sorrow she died.\n The dance is so merry,\n So merry in the greenwood.\u201d\n\n MASTER OLOF AT THE ELFIN DANCE (Howitt\u2019s tr.).\n\n[Sidenote: Fairies or fays.]\n\nThese elves, who in England were called fairies or fays, were also\nenthusiastic musicians, and delighted especially in a certain tune\nwhich was known as the elf dance, and which was so irresistible that no\none could hear it without dancing. If a mortal, overhearing the air,\nventured to play it, he suddenly found himself incapable of stopping\nand was forced to play on and on until he died of exhaustion, unless\nhe were deft enough to play the tune backwards, or some one charitably\nslipped behind him and cut the strings of his violin. His hearers, who\nwere forced to dance as long as the tones continued, could only pause\nwhen they ceased.\n\n[Sidenote: The Will-o\u2019-the-wisps.]\n\nIn the North, in the medi\u00e6val ages, the will-o\u2019-the-wisps were known\nas lights, for these tiny sprites were supposed to mislead travelers;\nand popular superstition claimed that the Jack-o\u2019-lanterns were the\nrestless spirits of murderers forced against their will to return to\nthe scene of their crimes. As they nightly walked thither, it is said\nthat they doggedly repeated with every step, \u201cIt is right;\u201d but as they\nreturned they sadly reiterated, \u201cIt is wrong.\u201d\n\n[Sidenote: Oberon and Titania.]\n\nIn later times the fairies or elves were said to be ruled by the king\nof the dwarfs, who, being an underground spirit, was considered a\ndemon, and allowed to retain the magic power which the missionaries\nhad wrested from the god Frey. In England and France the king of the\nfairies was known by the name of Oberon; he governed fairyland with his\nqueen Titania, and held his highest revels on earth on Midsummer night.\nIt was then that the fairies all congregated around him and danced most\nmerrily.\n\n \u201cEvery elf and fairy sprite\n Hop as light as bird from brier;\n And this ditty after me\n Sing, and dance it trippingly.\u201d\n\n MIDSUMMER-NIGHT\u2019S DREAM (Shakespeare).\n\nThese elves, like the brownies, Huldra folk, kobolds, etc., were also\nsupposed to visit human dwellings, and it was said that they took\nmischievous pleasure in tangling and knotting horses\u2019 manes and tails.\nThese tangles were known as elf locks, and whenever a farmer descried\nthem he declared that his steeds had been elf-ridden during the night.\n\n[Sidenote: Alf-blot.]\n\nIn Germany and Scandinavia sacrifices were offered to the elves to\nmake them propitious. These sacrifices, which consisted either of some\nsmall animal, or of a bowl of honey and milk, were known as Alf-blot,\nand were quite common until the missionaries taught the people that the\nelves were mere demons. The sacrifice once offered to them was then\ntransferred to the angels, who were long entreated to befriend mortals,\nand propitiated by the same gifts.\n\nMany of the elves were supposed to live and die with the trees or\nplants which they tended, but these moss, wood, or tree maidens, while\nremarkably beautiful when seen in front, were hollow like a trough\nwhen viewed from behind. They appear in many of the popular tales, but\nalmost always as benevolent and helpful spirits, for they were anxious\nto do good to mortals and to remain on a friendly footing with them.\n\n[Sidenote: Images on doorposts.]\n\nIn Scandinavia the elves, both light and dark, were worshiped as\nhousehold divinities, and their images were carved on the doorposts.\nThe Norsemen, who were driven away from home by the tyranny of Harald\nHarfager in 874, entered their ships, taking these carved doorposts\nwith them. Similar carvings, including images of the gods and heroes,\ndecorated the pillars of their high seats which they also carried\naway. The exiles showed their trust in their gods by throwing these\nwooden images overboard when they neared the Icelandic shores, and\nsettling where the waves carried the posts, although the spot scarcely\nseemed the most desirable. \u201cThus they carried with them the religion,\nthe poetry, and the laws of their race, and on this desolate volcanic\nisland they kept these records unchanged for hundreds of years, while\nother Teutonic nations gradually became affected by their intercourse\nwith Roman and Byzantine Christianity.\u201d These records, carefully\ncollected by S\u00e6mund the learned, form the Elder Edda, the most precious\nrelic of ancient Northern literature, without which we would know\ncomparatively little of the religion of our forefathers.\n\nThe sagas relate that the first Norse settlements in Greenland and\nVinland were made in the same way,--the Norsemen piously landing\nwherever their household gods drifted ashore,--many years before the\nvoyage of Columbus and the accredited discovery of America.\n\n[Illustration: OLD HOUSES WITH CARVED DOORPOSTS, NORWAY.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI.\n\nTHE SIGURD SAGA.\n\n\nWhile the first part of the Elder Edda consists of a collection of\nalliterative poems describing the creation of the world, the adventures\nof the gods, their eventual downfall, and gives a complete exposition\nof the Northern code of ethics, the second part comprises a series of\nheroic lays describing the life and adventures of the Volsung family,\nand especially of their chief representative, Sigurd, the great\nNorthern warrior.\n\n[Sidenote: The Volsunga Saga.]\n\nThese lays form the basis of the great Scandinavian epic, the Volsunga\nSaga, and have supplied not only the materials for the Nibelungenlied,\nthe German epic, and for countless folk tales, but also for Wagner\u2019s\ncelebrated operas, \u201cThe Rhinegold,\u201d \u201cValkyr,\u201d \u201cSiegfried,\u201d and \u201cThe\nDusk of the Gods.\u201d They have also been rewritten by William Morris,\nthe English poet, who has given them the form which they will probably\nretain in our literature, and it is from his work that almost all the\nquotations in this chapter are taken in preference to extracts from the\nEdda.\n\n[Sidenote: Sigi.]\n\nSigi, Odin\u2019s son, was a powerful man, and generally respected until he\nkilled a man out of jealousy because the latter had slain the most game\nwhen they were out hunting together. In consequence of this crime, Sigi\nwas driven from his own land and declared an outlaw. But, although he\nwas a criminal, he had not entirely forfeited Odin\u2019s favor, for the\ngod now gave him a well-equipped vessel, provided him with a number of\nbrave followers, and promised that victory should ever attend him.\n\nThanks to Odin\u2019s protection, Sigi soon won the glorious empire of the\nHuns and became a powerful monarch. But when he had attained extreme\nold age his fortune changed, Odin suddenly forsook him, his wife\u2019s\nkindred fell upon him, and after a short encounter he was treacherously\nslain.\n\n[Sidenote: Rerir.]\n\nHis death was soon avenged, however, for his son Rerir, returning from\na journey, put all the murderers to death and claimed the throne. But,\nin spite of all outward prosperity, Rerir\u2019s dearest wish, a son to\nsucceed him, remained unfulfilled for many a year. Finally, however,\nFrigga decided to grant his constant prayer, and to vouchsafe the heir\nhe longed for. Her swift messenger Gna, or Liod, was dispatched to\ncarry him a miraculous apple, which she dropped into his lap as he was\nsitting alone on the hillside. Glancing upward, Rerir recognized the\nemissary of the goddess, and joyfully hastened home to partake of the\napple with his wife. The child thus born in answer to their prayers was\na handsome little lad called Volsung, who, losing both parents in early\ninfancy, became ruler of all the land.\n\n[Sidenote: Volsung.]\n\nEvery year Volsung\u2019s wealth and power increased, and, as he was the\nboldest leader, many brave warriors rallied around him, and drank his\nmead sitting beneath the Branstock, a mighty oak, which, rising in the\nmiddle of his dwelling, pierced the roof and overshadowed the whole\nhouse.\n\n \u201cAnd as in all other matters \u2019twas all earthly houses\u2019 crown,\n And the least of its wall-hung shields was a battle-world\u2019s renown,\n So therein withal was a marvel and a glorious thing to see,\n For amidst of its midmost hall-floor sprang up a mighty tree,\n That reared its blessings roofward and wreathed the roof-tree dear\n With the glory of the summer and the garland of the year.\u201d\n\nVolsung did not long remain childless, for ten stalwart sons and one\nlovely daughter, Signy, came to brighten his home. As soon as this\nmaiden reached marriageable years, many suitors asked for her hand,\nwhich was finally pledged to Siggeir, King of the Goths, whom, however,\nshe had never seen.\n\n[Sidenote: The wedding of Signy.]\n\nThe wedding day came, and when the bride first beheld her destined\ngroom she shrank back in dismay, for his puny form and lowering glances\ncontrasted oddly with her brothers\u2019 strong frames and frank faces. But\nit was too late to withdraw,--the family honor was at stake,--and Signy\nso successfully concealed her dislike that none except her twin brother\nSigmund suspected how reluctantly she became Siggeir\u2019s wife.\n\n[Sidenote: The sword in the Branstock.]\n\nThe wedding feast was held as usual, and when the merrymakings had\nreached their height the guests were startled by the sudden entrance\nof a tall, one-eyed man, closely enveloped in a mantle of cloudy blue.\nWithout vouchsafing word or glance to any in the assembly, the stranger\nstrode up to the Branstock and thrust a glittering sword up to the hilt\nin its great bole. Then, turning slowly around, he faced the awe-struck\nassembly, and in the midst of the general silence declared that the\nweapon would belong to the warrior who could pull it out, and that it\nwould assure him victory in every battle. These words ended, he passed\nout and disappeared, leaving an intimate conviction in the minds of all\nthe guests that Odin, king of the gods, had been in their midst.\n\n \u201cSo sweet his speaking sounded, so wise his words did seem,\n That moveless all men sat there, as in a happy dream\n We stir not lest we waken; but there his speech had end,\n And slowly down the hall-floor and outward did he wend;\n And none would cast him a question or follow on his ways,\n For they knew that the gift was Odin\u2019s, a sword for the world to\n praise.\u201d\n\nVolsung was the first to recover the power of speech, and, waiving\nhis own right to try to secure the divine weapon, he invited Siggeir\nto make the first attempt to draw it out of the tree-trunk. The\nbridegroom anxiously tugged and strained, but the sword remained firmly\nembedded in the oak. He resumed his seat, with an air of chagrin, and\nthen Volsung also tried and failed. But the weapon was evidently not\nintended for either of them, and the young Volsung princes were next\ninvited to try their strength.\n\n \u201cSons I have gotten and cherished, now stand ye forth and try;\n Lest Odin tell in God-home how from the way he strayed,\n And how to the man he would not he gave away his blade.\u201d\n\n[Sidenote: Sigmund.]\n\nThe nine eldest sons were equally unsuccessful; but when Sigmund, the\ntenth and youngest, laid his firm young hand upon the hilt, it easily\nyielded to his touch, and he triumphantly drew the sword out without\nmaking the least exertion.\n\n \u201cAt last by the side of the Branstock Sigmund the Volsung stood,\n And with right hand wise in battle the precious sword-hilt caught,\n Yet in a careless fashion, as he deemed it all for naught;\n When, lo, from floor to rafter went up a shattering shout,\n For aloft in the hand of Sigmund the naked blade showed out\n As high o\u2019er his head he shook it: for the sword had come away\n From the grip of the heart of the Branstock, as though all\n loose it lay.\u201d\n\nAll present seemed overjoyed at his success; but Siggeir\u2019s heart was\nfilled with envy, for he coveted the possession of the weapon, which he\nnow tried to purchase from his young brother-in-law. Sigmund, however,\nrefused to part with it at any price, declaring that the weapon had\nevidently been intended for him only. This refusal so offended Siggeir\nthat he secretly resolved to bide his time, to exterminate the proud\nrace of the Volsungs, and thus secure the divine sword.\n\nConcealing his chagrin therefore, he turned to Volsung and cordially\ninvited him to visit his court a month later, bringing all his sons and\nkinsmen with him. The invitation so spontaneously given was immediately\naccepted, and although Signy, suspecting evil, secretly sought her\nfather while her husband slept, and implored him to retract his promise\nand stay at home, he would not consent to appear afraid.\n\n[Sidenote: Siggeir\u2019s treachery.]\n\nA few weeks after the return of the bridal couple Volsung\u2019s well-manned\nvessels came within sight of Siggeir\u2019s shores, and Signy perceiving\nthem hastened down to the beach to implore her kinsmen not to land,\nwarning them that her husband had treacherously planned an ambush,\nwhence they could never escape alive. But Volsung and his sons, whom no\nperil could daunt, calmly bade her return to her husband\u2019s palace, and\ndonning their arms they boldly set foot ashore.\n\n[Illustration: THE BRANSTOCK.--Hoffmann.]\n\n \u201cThen sweetly Volsung kissed her: \u2018Woe am I for thy sake,\n But Earth the word hath hearkened, that yet unborn I spake;\n How I ne\u2019er would turn me backward from the sword or fire of bale;--\n --I have held that word till to-day, and to-day shall I change the\n tale?\n And look on these thy brethren, how goodly and great are they,\n Wouldst thou have the maidens mock them, when this pain hath passed\n away\n And they sit at the feast hereafter, that they feared the deadly\n stroke?\n Let us do our day\u2019s work deftly for the praise and the glory of folk;\n And if the Norns will have it that the Volsung kin shall fail,\n Yet I know of the deed that dies not, and the name that shall\n ever avail.\u2019\u201d\n\nMarching towards the palace, the brave little troop soon fell into\nSiggeir\u2019s ambuscade, and, although they fought with heroic courage,\nthey were so overpowered by the superior number of their foes that\nVolsung was soon slain and all his sons made captive. Led bound into\nthe presence of Siggeir, who had taken no part in the fight (for he was\nan arrant coward), Sigmund was forced to relinquish his precious sword,\nand he and his brothers were all condemned to die.\n\nSigny, hearing this cruel sentence, vainly interceded for them, but all\nshe could obtain by her prayers and entreaties was that her kinsmen\nshould be chained to a fallen oak in the forest, there to perish of\nhunger and thirst if the wild beasts spared them. Then, fearing lest\nhis wife should visit and succor her brothers, Siggeir confined her in\nthe palace, where she was closely guarded night and day.\n\nEarly every morning Siggeir himself sent a messenger into the forest\nto see whether the Volsungs were still living, and every morning\nthe man returned saying a monster had come during the night and had\ndevoured one of the princes, leaving nothing but his bones. When none\nbut Sigmund remained alive, Signy finally prevailed upon one of her\nservants to carry some honey into the forest and smear it over her\nbrother\u2019s face and mouth.\n\nThat very night the wild beast, attracted by the smell of the honey,\nlicked Sigmund\u2019s face, and even thrust its tongue into his mouth.\nClinching his teeth upon it, Sigmund, weak and wounded as he was,\nstruggled until his bonds broke and he could slay the nightly visitor\nwho had caused the death of all his brothers. Then he vanished into the\nforest, where he remained concealed until the daily messenger had come\nand gone, and until Signy, released from captivity, came speeding to\nthe forest to weep over her kinsmen\u2019s remains.\n\nSeeing her evident grief, and knowing she had no part in Siggeir\u2019s\ncruelty, Sigmund stole out of his place of concealment, comforted\nher as best he could, helped her to bury the whitening bones, and\nregistered a solemn oath in her presence to avenge his family\u2019s\nwrongs. This vow was fully approved by Signy, who, however, bade her\nbrother abide a favorable time, promising to send him a helper. Then\nthe brother and sister sadly parted, she to return to her distasteful\npalace home, and he to seek the most remote part of the forest, where\nhe built a tiny hut and plied the trade of a smith.\n\n \u201cAnd men say that Signy wept\n When she left that last of her kindred; yet wept she never more\n Amid the earls of Siggeir, and as lovely as before\n Was her face to all men\u2019s deeming: nor aught it changed for ruth,\n Nor for fear nor any longing; and no man said for sooth\n That she ever laughed thereafter till the day of her death was come.\u201d\n\n[Sidenote: Signy\u2019s sons.]\n\nYears passed by. Siggeir, having taken possession of the Volsung\nkingdom, proudly watched the growth of his eldest son, whom Signy\nsecretly sent to her brother as soon as he was ten years of age,\nbidding Sigmund train the child up to help him, if he were worthy of\nsuch a task. Sigmund reluctantly accepted the charge; but as soon as\nhe had tested the boy and found him deficient in physical courage, he\neither sent him back to his mother, or, as some versions relate, slew\nhim.\n\nSome time after this Sigmund tested Signy\u2019s second son, who had been\nsent to him for the same purpose, and found him wanting also. Evidently\nnone but a pure-blooded Volsung could help him in his work of revenge,\nand Signy, realizing this, resolved to commit a crime.\n\n \u201cAnd once in the dark she murmured: \u2018Where then was the ancient song\n That the Gods were but twin-born once, and deemed it nothing wrong\n To mingle for the world\u2019s sake, whence had the \u00c6sir birth,\n And the Vanir, and the Dwarf-kind, and all the folk of earth?\u2019\u201d\n\nThis resolution taken, she summoned a beautiful young witch, exchanged\nforms with her, and, running into the forest, sought shelter in\nSigmund\u2019s hut. Deeming her nothing but the gypsy she seemed, and won by\nher coquetry, he soon made her his wife. Three days later she vanished\nfrom his hut, returned to the palace, resumed her own form, and when\nshe gave birth to a little son, she rejoiced to see his bold glance and\nstrong frame.\n\n[Sidenote: Sinfiotli.]\n\nWhen this child, Sinfiotli, was ten years of age, she herself made a\npreliminary test of his courage by sewing his garment to his skin. Then\nshe suddenly snatched it off with shreds of flesh hanging to it, and\nas the child did not even wince, but laughed aloud, she confidently\nsent him to Sigmund. He, too, found the boy quite fearless, and upon\nleaving the hut one day he bade him take meal from a certain sack, and\nknead and bake the bread. On returning home Sigmund asked Sinfiotli\nwhether his orders had been carried out. The lad replied by showing\nthe bread, and when closely questioned he artlessly confessed that he\nhad been obliged to knead into the loaf a great adder which was hidden\nin the meal. Pleased to see that the child, for whom he felt a strange\naffection, had successfully stood the test which had daunted his\npredecessors, Sigmund bade him refrain from eating of that loaf, as he\nalone could taste poison unharmed, and patiently began to teach him all\na Northern warrior need know.\n\n \u201cFor here the tale of the elders doth men a marvel to wit,\n That such was the shaping of Sigmund among all earthly kings,\n That unhurt he handled adders and other deadly things,\n And might drink unscathed of venom: but Sinfiotli was so wrought\n That no sting of creeping creatures would harm his body aught.\u201d\n\n[Sidenote: The werewolves.]\n\nSigmund and Sinfiotli soon became inseparable companions, and while\nranging the forest together they once came to a hut, where they found\ntwo men sound asleep. Wolf skins hanging near them immediately made\nthem conclude that the strangers were werewolves (men whom a cruel\nspell forced to assume the habits and guise of ravenous wolves, and\nwho could only resume their natural form for a short space at a time).\nPrompted by curiosity, Sigmund donned one of the wolf skins, Sinfiotli\nthe other, and they were soon metamorphosed into wolves and rushed\nthrough the forest, slaying and devouring all they saw.\n\nSuch were their wolfish passions that they soon attacked each other,\nand after a fierce struggle Sinfiotli, the younger and weaker, fell\ndown dead. This sudden catastrophe brought Sigmund to his senses.\nWhile he hung over his murdered companion in sudden despair, he saw\ntwo weasels come out of the forest and fight until one lay dead. The\nlive weasel then sprang back into the thicket, and soon returned with\na leaf, which it laid upon its companion\u2019s breast. At the contact of\nthe magic herb the dead beast came back to life. A moment later a raven\nflying overhead dropped a similar leaf at Sigmund\u2019s feet, and he,\nunderstanding that the gods wished to help him, laid it upon Sinfiotli,\nwho was restored to life.\n\nAfraid lest they might work each other further mischief while in this\naltered guise, Sigmund and Sinfiotli now crept home and patiently\nwaited until the time of release had come. On the ninth night the skins\ndropped off and they hastily flung them into the fire, where they were\nentirely consumed, and the spell was broken forever.\n\nIt was now that Sigmund confided the story of his wrongs to Sinfiotli,\nwho swore that, although Siggeir was his father (for neither he nor\nSigmund knew the secret of his birth), he would help him to take his\nrevenge. At nightfall, therefore, he accompanied Sigmund to the palace;\nthey entered unseen, and concealed themselves in the cellar, behind\nthe huge beer vats. Here they were discovered by Signy\u2019s two youngest\nchildren, who were playing with golden rings, which rolled into the\ncellar, and who thus suddenly came upon the men in ambush.\n\nThey loudly proclaimed the discovery they had just made to their father\nand his guests, but, before Siggeir and his men could don their arms,\nSigny caught both children by the hand, and dragging them into the\ncellar bade her brother slay the little traitors. This Sigmund utterly\nrefused to do, but Sinfiotli struck off their heads ere he turned to\nfight against the assailants, who were rapidly closing around him.\n\nIn spite of all efforts Sigmund and his brave young companion soon fell\ninto the hands of the Goths, whose king, Siggeir, sentenced them to be\nburied alive in the same mound, a stone partition being erected between\nthem so they could neither see nor touch each other. The prisoners\nwere already confined in their living graves, and the men were about\nto place the last stones on the roof, when Signy drew near, bearing a\nbundle of straw, which they allowed her to throw at Sinfiotli\u2019s feet,\nfor they fancied that it contained only a few provisions which would\nprolong his agony a little without helping him to escape.\n\nWhen the workmen had departed and all was still, Sinfiotli undid the\nsheaf and shouted for joy when he found instead of bread the sword\nwhich Odin had given to Sigmund. Knowing that nothing could dull or\nbreak the keen edge of this fine weapon, Sinfiotli thrust it through\nthe stone partition, and, aided by Sigmund, sawed an opening, and both\nsoon effected an escape through the roof.\n\n \u201cThen in the grave-mound\u2019s darkness did Sigmund the king upstand,\n And unto that saw of battle he set his naked hand;\n And hard the gift of Odin home to their breasts they drew;\n Sawed Sigmund, sawed Sinfiotli, till the stone was cleft atwo,\n And they met and kissed together: then they hewed and heaved full hard\n Till, lo, through the bursten rafters the winter heavens bestarred!\n And they leap out merry-hearted; nor is there need to say\n A many words between them of whither was the way.\u201d\n\n[Sidenote: Sigmund\u2019s vengeance.]\n\nSigmund and Sinfiotli, free once more, noiselessly sought the palace,\npiled combustible materials around it, and setting fire to it placed\nthemselves on either side the door, declaring that none but the women\nshould be allowed to pass through. Then they loudly called to Signy to\nescape ere it was too late, but she had no desire to live, and after\nkissing them both and revealing the secret of Sinfiotli\u2019s birth she\nsprang back into the flames, where she perished.\n\n \u201cAnd then King Siggeir\u2019s roof-tree upheaved for its utmost fall,\n And its huge walls clashed together, and its mean and lowly things\n The fire of death confounded with the tokens of the kings.\u201d\n\n[Sidenote: Helgi.]\n\nThe long-planned vengeance had finally been carried out, Volsung\u2019s\ndeath had been avenged, and Sigmund, feeling that nothing now detained\nhim in Gothland, set sail with Sinfiotli and returned to Hunaland,\nwhere he was warmly welcomed and again sat under the shade of his\nancestral tree, the mighty Branstock. His authority fully established,\nSigmund married Borghild, a beautiful princess, who bore him two sons,\nHamond and Helgi, the latter of whom was visited by the Norns when he\nlay in his cradle, and promised sumptuous entertainment in Valhalla\nwhen his earthly career should be ended.\n\n \u201cAnd the woman was fair and lovely, and bore him sons of fame;\n Men called them Hamond and Helgi, and when Helgi first saw light\n There came the Norns to his cradle and gave him life full bright,\n And called him Sunlit Hill, Sharp Sword, and Land of Rings,\n And bade him be lovely and great, and a joy in the tale of kings.\u201d\n\nThis young Volsung prince was fostered by Hagal, for Northern kings\ngenerally entrusted their sons\u2019 education to a stranger, thinking they\nwould be treated with less indulgence than at home. Under this tuition\nHelgi became so fearless that at the age of fifteen he ventured alone\ninto the palace of Hunding, with whose whole race his family was at\nfeud. Passing all through the palace unmolested and unrecognized, he\nleft an insolent message, which so angered Hunding that he immediately\nset out in pursuit of the bold young prince. Hunding entered Hagal\u2019s\nhouse, and would have made Helgi a prisoner had the youth not disguised\nhimself as a servant maid, and begun to grind corn as if it were his\nwonted occupation. The invaders marveled somewhat at the maid\u2019s tall\nstature and brawny arms, but departed without suspecting that they had\nbeen so near the hero whom they sought.\n\nHaving thus cleverly escaped, Helgi joined Sinfiotli; they collected an\narmy, and marched openly against the Hundings, with whom they fought\na great battle, during which the Valkyrs hovered overhead, waiting to\nconvey the slain to Valhalla. Gudrun, one of the battle maidens, was so\ncharmed by the courage which Helgi displayed, that she openly sought\nhim and promised to be his wife. Only one of the Hunding race, Dag,\nremained alive, and he was allowed to go free after promising never to\ntry to avenge his kinsmen\u2019s death. This promise was not kept, however,\nfor Dag, having borrowed Odin\u2019s spear Gungnir, treacherously made use\nof it to slay Helgi. Gudrun, now his wife, wept many tears at his\ndeath, and solemnly cursed his murderer; then, hearing from one of her\nmaids that her slain husband kept calling for her in the depths of his\ntomb, she fearlessly entered the mound at night and tenderly inquired\nwhy he called and why his wounds kept on bleeding even after death.\nHelgi answered that he could not rest happy because of her grief, and\ndeclared that for every tear she shed a drop of his blood must flow.\n\n \u201cThou weepest, gold-adorned!\n Cruel tears,\n Sun-bright daughter of the south!\n Ere to sleep thou goest;\n Each one falls bloody\n On the prince\u2019s breast,\n Wet, cold, and piercing,\n With sorrow big.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nTo still her beloved husband\u2019s sufferings, Gudrun then ceased to weep,\nbut her spirit soon joined his, which had ridden over Bifr\u00f6st and\nentered Valhalla, where Odin made him leader of the Einheriar. Here\nGudrun, a Valkyr once more, continued to wait upon him, darting down\nto earth at Odin\u2019s command to seek new recruits for the army which her\nlord was to lead into battle when Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods,\nshould come.\n\n[Sidenote: Death of Sinfiotli.]\n\nSinfiotli, Sigmund\u2019s eldest son, also came to an early death; for,\nhaving quarreled with and slain Borghild\u2019s brother, she determined to\npoison him. Twice Sinfiotli detected the attempt and told his father\nthere was poison in his cup. Twice Sigmund, whom no venom could injure,\ndrained the bowl; but when Borghild made a third and last attempt,\nhe bade Sinfiotli let the wine flow through his beard. Mistaking the\nmeaning of his father\u2019s words, Sinfiotli immediately drained the cup\nand fell to the ground lifeless, for the poison was of the most deadly\nkind.\n\n \u201cHe drank as he spake the words, and forthwith the venom ran\n In a chill flood over his heart, and down fell the mighty man\n With never an uttered death-word and never a death-changed look,\n And the floor of the hall of the Volsungs beneath his falling shook.\n Then up rose the elder of days with a great and bitter cry,\n And lifted the head of the fallen; and none durst come anigh\n To hearken the words of his sorrow, if any words he said\n But such as the Father of all men might speak over Balder dead.\n And again, as before the death-stroke, waxed the hall of the\n Volsungs dim,\n And once more he seemed in the forest, where he spake with\n naught but him.\u201d\n\nSpeechless with grief, Sigmund tenderly raised his son\u2019s body in his\narms, and strode out of the hall and down to the shore, where he\ndeposited his precious burden in the skiff of an old one-eyed boatman\nwho came at his call. But when he would fain have stepped aboard also,\nthe boatman pushed off and was soon lost to sight. The bereaved father\nthen slowly wended his way home again, knowing that Odin himself had\ncome to claim the young hero and had rowed away with him \u201cout into the\nwest.\u201d\n\n[Sidenote: Hiordis.]\n\nSigmund repudiated Borghild in punishment for this crime, and when\nhe was very old indeed he sued for the hand of Hiordis, a fair young\nprincess, daughter of Eglimi, King of the Islands. Although this young\nmaiden had many suitors, among others King Lygni of Hunding\u2019s race,\nshe gladly accepted Sigmund and became his wife. Lygni, the discarded\nsuitor, was so angry at this decision, that he immediately collected\nan army and marched against his successful rival, who, overpowered by\nsuperior numbers, fought with the courage of despair.\n\nHidden in a neighboring thicket, Hiordis and her maid anxiously watched\nthe battle, saw Sigmund pile the dead around him and triumph over every\nfoe, until at last a tall, one-eyed warrior suddenly appeared, broke\nhis matchless sword, and vanished, leaving him defenseless amid the\nfoe, who soon cut him down.\n\n \u201cBut, lo! through the hedge of the war-shafts, a mighty man there\n came,\n One-eyed and seeming ancient, but his visage shone like flame:\n Gleaming gray was his kirtle, and his hood was cloudy blue;\n And he bore a mighty twi-bill, as he waded the fight-sheaves through,\n And stood face to face with Sigmund, and upheaved the bill to smite.\n Once more round the head of the Volsung fierce glittered the\n Branstock\u2019s light,\n The sword that came from Odin: and Sigmund\u2019s cry once more\n Rang out to the very heavens above the din of war.\n Then clashed the meeting edges with Sigmund\u2019s latest stroke,\n And in shivering shards fell earthward that fear of worldly folk.\n But changed were the eyes of Sigmund, the war-wrath left his face;\n For that gray-clad, mighty Helper was gone, and in his place\n Drave on the unbroken spear-wood \u2019gainst the Volsung\u2019s empty hands:\n And there they smote down Sigmund, the wonder of all lands,\n On the foemen, on the death-heap his deeds had piled that day.\u201d\n\nAll the Volsung race and army had already succumbed, so Lygni\nimmediately left the battlefield to hasten on and take possession\nof the kingdom and palace, where he fully expected to find the fair\nHiordis and force her to become his wife. As soon as he had gone,\nhowever, the beautiful young queen crept out of her hiding place in the\nthicket, ran to the dying Sigmund, caught him to her breast in a last\npassionate embrace, and tearfully listened to his dying words. He then\nbade her gather up the fragments of his sword, carefully treasure them,\nand give them to the son whom he foretold would soon be born, and who\nwas destined to avenge his death and be far greater than he.\n\n \u201c\u2018I have wrought for the Volsungs truly, and yet have I known full\n well\n That a better one than I am shall bear the tale to tell:\n And for him shall these shards be smithied; and he shall be my son,\n To remember what I have forgotten and to do what I left undone.\u2019\u201d\n\n[Sidenote: Elf, the viking.]\n\nWhile Hiordis was mourning over Sigmund\u2019s lifeless body, her watching\nhandmaiden warned her of the approach of a party of vikings. Retreating\ninto the thicket once more, Hiordis exchanged garments with her; then,\nbidding her walk first and personate the queen, they went to meet the\nviking Elf (Helfrat or Helferich), and so excited his admiration for\nSigmund that he buried him with all pomp, and promised them a safe\nasylum in his house.\n\nAs he had doubted their relative positions from the very first moment,\nhe soon resorted to a seemingly idle question to ascertain their real\nrank. The pretended queen, when asked how she knew the hour had come\nfor rising when the winter days were short and there was no light to\nannounce the coming of morn, replied that, as she was in the habit of\ndrinking milk ere she fed the cows, she always awoke thirsty. But when\nthe same question was put to the real Hiordis, she answered that she\nknew it was morning because the golden ring her father had given her\ngrew cold on her hand.\n\n[Sidenote: Sigurd.]\n\nElf, having thus discovered the true state of affairs, offered marriage\nto the pretended handmaiden, Hiordis, promising to foster her child by\nSigmund--a promise which he nobly kept. The child was sprinkled with\nwater by his hand--a ceremony which our pagan ancestors scrupulously\nperformed--received from him the name of Sigurd, and grew up in the\npalace. There he was treated as the king\u2019s own son, receiving his\neducation from Regin, the wisest of men, who knew all things and was\neven aware of his own fate, which was to fall by a youth\u2019s hand.\n\n \u201cAgain in the house of the Helper there dwelt a certain man,\n Beardless and low of stature, of visage pinched and wan:\n So exceeding old was Regin, that no son of man could tell\n In what year of the days passed over he came to that land to dwell:\n But the youth of king Elf had he fostered, and the Helper\u2019s\n youth thereto,\n Yea, and his father\u2019s father\u2019s: the lore of all men he knew,\n And was deft in every cunning, save the dealings of the sword:\n So sweet was his tongue-speech fashioned, that men trowed his every\n word;\n His hand with the harp-strings blended was the mingler of delight\n With the latter days of sorrow; all tales he told aright;\n The Master of the Masters in the smithying craft was he;\n And he dealt with the wind and the weather and the stilling of the\n sea;\n Nor might any learn him leech-craft, for before that race was made,\n And that man-folk\u2019s generation, all their life-days had he weighed.\u201d\n\nUnder this tutor young Sigurd grew up to great wisdom. He mastered\nthe smith craft, and the art of carving all manner of runes, learned\nlanguages, music, and eloquence, and, last but not least, became a\ndoughty warrior whom none could subdue. By Regin\u2019s advice, Sigurd,\nhaving reached manhood, asked the king for a war horse--a request\nwhich was immediately granted, for he was bidden hasten to Gripir, the\nstud-keeper, and choose from his flock the steed he liked best.\n\nOn his way to the meadow where the horses were at pasture, Sigurd\nencountered a one-eyed stranger, clad in gray and blue, who bade him\ndrive the horses into the river and select the one which could breast\nthe foaming tide most successfully.\n\nSigurd, acting according to this advice, noticed that one horse, after\ncrossing, raced around the meadow on the opposite side; then, plunging\nback into the river, he returned to his former pasture without showing\nany signs of fatigue. The young hero selected this horse, therefore,\ncalling him Grane or Greyfell. This steed was a descendant of Odin\u2019s\neight-footed horse Sleipnir, and, besides being unusually strong and\nindefatigable, was as fearless as his master. A short time after this,\nwhile Regin and his pupil were sitting over the fire, the former struck\nhis harp, and, after the manner of the Northern scalds, sang or recited\nthe following tale, which was the story of his life:\n\n[Sidenote: The treasure of the dwarf king.]\n\nHreidmar, king of the dwarf folk, was the father of three sons. Fafnir,\nthe eldest, was gifted with a fearless soul and a powerful hand; Otter,\nthe second, with snare and net, and the power of changing form at\nwill; and Regin, the third, could, as we have already seen, command\nall knowledge and skillfully ply the trade of a smith. To please the\navaricious old Hreidmar, this youngest son fashioned for him a house\nwhich was all lined with glittering gold and flashing gems, and guarded\nby Fafnir, whose fierce glances and \u00c6gis helmet none dared encounter.\n\nNow it came to pass that Odin, Hoenir, and Loki once came down upon\nearth in human guise for one of their wonted expeditions to test the\nhearts of men, and soon reached the land where Hreidmar dwelt.\n\n \u201cAnd the three were the heart-wise Odin, the Father of the Slain,\n And Loki, the World\u2019s Begrudger, who maketh all labor vain,\n And H\u00f6nir, the Utter-Blameless, who wrought the hope of man,\n And his heart and inmost yearnings, when first the work began;--\n The God that was aforetime, and hereafter yet shall be\n When the new light yet undreamed of shall shine o\u2019er earth and sea.\u201d\n\nThese gods had not wandered very far before Loki perceived an otter\nbasking in the sun. Animated by his usual spirit of destruction, he\nslew the unoffending beast--which, as it happened, was the dwarf king\u2019s\nsecond son, Otter--and flung its lifeless body over his shoulders,\nthinking it would furnish a good dish when meal time came.\n\nFollowing his companions, Loki came at last to Hreidmar\u2019s house,\nentered with them, and flung his burden down upon the floor. The moment\nthe dwarf king\u2019s glance fell upon it he flew into a towering rage, and\nbefore the gods could help themselves they were bound by his order, and\nheard him declare that they should never recover their liberty unless\nthey could satisfy his thirst for gold by giving him enough of that\nprecious substance to cover the otterskin inside and out.\n\n \u201c\u2018Now hearken the doom I shall speak! Ye stranger-folk shall be free\n When ye give me the Flame of the Waters, the gathered Gold of the Sea,\n That Andvari hideth rejoicing in the wan realm pale as the grave;\n And the Master of Sleight shall fetch it, and the hand that never\n gave,\n And the heart that begrudgeth forever, shall gather and give and rue.\n Lo, this is the doom of the wise, and no doom shall be spoken anew.\u2019\u201d\n\nAs this otterskin had the property of stretching itself out to a\nfabulous size, no ordinary treasure could suffice to cover it. The gods\ntherefore bade Loki, who was liberated to procure the ransom, hasten\noff to the waterfall where the dwarf Andvari dwelt, and secure the\ntreasure he had amassed by magical means.\n\n \u201cThere is a desert of dread in the uttermost part of the world,\n Where over a wall of mountains is a mighty water hurled,\n Whose hidden head none knoweth, nor where it meeteth the sea;\n And that force is the Force of Andvari, and an Elf of the dark is he.\n In the cloud and the desert he dwelleth amid that land alone;\n And his work is the storing of treasure within his house of stone.\u201d\n\nIn spite of diligent search, however, Loki could not find the dwarf;\nbut perceiving a salmon sporting in the foaming waters, he shrewdly\nconcluded the dwarf must have assumed this shape, and borrowing Ran\u2019s\nnet he soon had the fish in his power. As he had suspected, it was\nAndvari, who, in exchange for liberty, reluctantly brought forth\nhis mighty treasure and surrendered it all, including the Helmet of\nDread and a hauberk of gold, reserving only the ring he wore, which\nwas gifted with miraculous powers, and, like a magnet, helped him to\ncollect the precious ore. But the greedy Loki, catching sight of it,\nwrenched it away from him and departed laughing, while the dwarf hurled\nangry curses after him, declaring that the ring would ever prove its\npossessor\u2019s bane and would cause the death of many.\n\n \u201cThat gold\n Which the dwarf possessed\n Shall to two brothers\n Be cause of death,\n And to eight princes,\n Of dissension.\n From my wealth no one\n Shall good derive.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nOn arriving at Hreidmar\u2019s hut, Loki found the mighty treasure none\ntoo great, for the skin widened and spread, and he was even forced\nto give the ring Andvaranaut (Andvari\u2019s loom) to purchase his and his\ncompanions\u2019 release. The gold thus obtained soon became a curse, as\nAndvari had predicted, for Fafnir and Regin both coveted a share. As\nfor Hreidmar, he gloated over his treasure night and day, and Fafnir\nthe invincible, seeing that he could not obtain it otherwise, slew\nhis own father, donned the Helmet of Dread and the hauberk of gold,\ngrasped the sword Hrotti, and when Regin came to claim a part drove him\nscornfully out into the world, where he bade him earn his own living.\n\nThus exiled, Regin took refuge among men, to whom he taught the arts of\nsowing and reaping. He showed them how to work metals, sail the seas,\ntame horses, yoke beasts of burden, build houses, spin, weave, and\nsew--in short, all the industries of civilized life, which had hitherto\nbeen unknown. Years elapsed, and Regin patiently bided his time, hoping\nthat some day he would find a hero strong enough to avenge his wrongs\nupon Fafnir, whom years of gloating over his treasure had changed into\na horrible dragon, the terror of Gn\u00eetaheid (Glittering Heath), where he\nhad taken up his abode.\n\nHis story finished, Regin suddenly turned to the attentive Sigurd, told\nhim he knew that he could slay the dragon if he wished, and inquired\nwhether he were ready to help his old tutor avenge his wrongs.\n\n \u201cAnd he spake: \u2018Hast thou hearkened, Sigurd? Wilt thou help a\n man that is old\n To avenge him for his father? Wilt thou win that treasure of gold\n And be more than the kings of the earth? Wilt thou rid the\n earth of a wrong\n And heal the woe and the sorrow my heart hath endured o\u2019er long?\u2019\u201d\n\n[Sidenote: Sigurd\u2019s sword.]\n\nSigurd immediately assented, declaring, however, that the curse must\nbe assumed by Regin, for he would have none of it; and, in order\nto be well prepared for the coming fight, he asked his master to\nforge him a sword which no blow could break. Twice Regin fashioned a\nmarvelous weapon, but twice Sigurd broke it to pieces on the anvil.\nThen, declaring that he must have a sword which would not fail him in\ntime of need, he begged the broken fragments of Sigmund\u2019s weapon from\nhis mother Hiordis, and either forged himself or made Regin forge a\nmatchless blade, whose temper was such that it neatly severed some wool\nfloating gently down the stream, and divided the great anvil in two\nwithout being even dinted.\n\nAfter paying a farewell visit to Gripir, who, knowing the future,\nforetold every event in his coming career, Sigurd took leave of his\nmother, and accompanied by Regin set sail from his native land,\npromising to slay the dragon as soon as he had fulfilled his first\nduty, which was to avenge his father Sigmund\u2019s death.\n\n \u201c\u2018First wilt thou, prince,\n Avenge thy father,\n And for the wrongs of Eglymi\n Wilt retaliate.\n Thou wilt the cruel,\n The sons of Hunding,\n Boldly lay low:\n Thou wilt have victory.\u2019\u201d\n\n LAY OF SIGURD FAFNICIDE (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nOn his way to the Volsung land Sigurd saw a man walking on the waters,\nand took him on board, little suspecting that this individual, who said\nhis name was Feng or Fi\u00f6llnir, was Odin or Hnikar, the wave stiller.\nHe therefore conversed freely with the stranger, who promised him\nfavorable winds, and learned from him how to distinguish auspicious\nfrom unauspicious omens.\n\n[Sidenote: The fight with the dragon.]\n\nAfter slaying Lygni and cutting the bloody eagle on his foes, Sigurd\nleft his reconquered kingdom and went with Regin to slay Fafnir. A long\nride through the mountains, which rose higher and higher before him,\nbrought him at last to his goal, where a one-eyed stranger bade him dig\ntrenches in the middle of the track along which the dragon daily rolled\nhis slimy length to go down to the river and quench his thirst. He\nthen bade Sigurd cower in one of those holes, and there wait until the\nmonster passed over him, when he could drive his trusty weapon straight\ninto its heart.\n\n[Illustration: SIGURD AND THE DRAGON.--K. Dielitz.]\n\nSigurd gratefully followed this advice, and as the monster\u2019s loathsome,\nslimy folds rolled overhead he thrust his sword under its left breast,\nand, deluged with blood, sprang out of the trench as the dragon rolled\naside in the throes of death.\n\n \u201cThen all sank into silence, and the son of Sigmund stood\n On the torn and furrowed desert by the pool of Fafnir\u2019s blood,\n And the serpent lay before him, dead, chilly, dull, and gray;\n And over the Glittering Heath fair shone the sun and the day,\n And a light wind followed the sun and breathed o\u2019er the fateful place,\n As fresh as it furrows the sea plain, or bows the acres\u2019 face.\u201d\n\nRegin, who had prudently remained at a distance until all danger was\nover, seeing his foe was slain, now came up to Sigurd; and fearing\nlest the strong young conqueror should glory in his deed and claim a\nreward, he began to accuse him of having murdered his kin, and declared\nthat instead of requiring life for life, as was his right according to\nNorthern law, he would consider it sufficient atonement if Sigurd would\ncut out the monster\u2019s heart and roast it for him on a spit.\n\n \u201cThen Regin spake to Sigurd: \u2018Of this slaying wilt thou be free?\n Then gather thou fire together and roast the heart for me,\n That I may eat it and live, and be thy master and more;\n For therein was might and wisdom, and the grudged and hoarded lore:--\n Or else depart on thy ways afraid from the Glittering Heath.\u2019\u201d\n\nSigurd, knowing that a true warrior never refused satisfaction of some\nkind to the kindred of the slain, immediately prepared to act as cook,\nwhile Regin dozed until the meat was ready. Feeling of the heart to\nascertain whether it were tender, Sigurd burned his fingers so severely\nthat he instinctively thrust them into his mouth to allay the smart.\nNo sooner had Fafnir\u2019s blood touched his lips than he discovered, to\nhis utter surprise, that he could understand the songs of the birds,\nwhich were already gathering around the carrion. Listening to them\nattentively, he found they were advising him to slay Regin, appropriate\nthe gold, eat the heart and drink the blood of the dragon; and as this\nadvice entirely coincided with his own wishes, he lost no time in\nexecuting it. A small portion of Fafnir\u2019s heart was reserved for future\nconsumption, ere he wandered off in search of the mighty hoard. Then,\nafter donning the Helmet of Dread, the hauberk of gold, and the ring\nAndvaranaut, and loading Greyfell with as much ruddy gold as he could\ncarry, Sigurd sprang on his horse, listening eagerly to the birds\u2019\nsongs to know what he had best undertake next.\n\n[Sidenote: The sleeping warrior maiden.]\n\nSoon he heard them sing of a warrior maiden fast asleep on a mountain\nand all surrounded by a glittering barrier of flames; through which\nonly the bravest of men could pass in order to arouse her.\n\n \u201cOn the fell I know\n A warrior maid to sleep;\n Over her waves\n The linden\u2019s bane:\n Ygg whilom stuck\n A sleep-thorn in the robe\n Of the maid who\n Would heroes choose.\u201d\n\n LAY OF FAFNIR (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nAfter riding for a long while through trackless regions, Sigurd at\nlast came to the Hindarfiall in Frankland, a tall mountain whose\ncloud-wreathed summit seemed circled by fiery flames.\n\n \u201cLong Sigurd rideth the waste, when, lo! on a morning of day,\n From out of the tangled crag walls, amidst the cloudland gray,\n Comes up a mighty mountain, and it is as though there burns\n A torch amidst of its cloud wreath; so thither Sigurd turns,\n For he deems indeed from its topmost to look on the best of the earth;\n And Greyfell neigheth beneath him, and his heart is full of mirth.\u201d\n\nRiding straight up this mountain, he saw the light grow more and\nmore vivid, and soon a barrier of lurid flames stood before him; but\nalthough the fire crackled and roared, it could not daunt our hero, who\nplunged bravely into its very midst.\n\n \u201cNow Sigurd turns in his saddle, and the hilt of the Wrath he shifts,\n And draws a girth the tighter; then the gathered reins he lifts,\n And crieth aloud to Greyfell, and rides at the wildfire\u2019s heart;\n But the white wall wavers before him and the flame-flood rusheth apart,\n And high o\u2019er his head it riseth, and wide and wild its roar\n As it beareth the mighty tidings to the very heavenly floor:\n But he rideth through its roaring as the warrior rides the rye,\n When it bows with the wind of the summer and the hid spears draw anigh;\n The white flame licks his raiment and sweeps through Greyfell\u2019s mane,\n And bathes both hands of Sigurd and the hilt of Fafnir\u2019s bane,\n And winds about his war-helm and mingles with his hair,\n But naught his raiment dusketh or dims his glittering gear;\n Then it fails and fades and darkens till all seems left behind,\n And dawn and the blaze is swallowed in mid-mirk stark and blind.\u201d\n\nNo sooner had Sigurd thus fearlessly sprung into the very heart of\nthe flames than the fire flickered and died out, leaving nothing but\na broad circle of white ashes, through which he rode until he came\nto a great castle, with shield-hung walls, in which he penetrated\nunchallenged, for the gates were wide open and no warders or men at\narms were to be seen. Proceeding cautiously, for he feared some snare,\nSigurd at last came to the center of the inclosure, where he saw a\nrecumbent form all cased in armor. To remove the helmet was but a\nmoment\u2019s work, but Sigurd started back in surprise when he beheld,\ninstead of a warrior, the sleeping face of a most beautiful woman.\n\nAll his efforts to awaken her were quite vain, however, until he had\ncut the armor off her body, and she lay before him in pure-white linen\ngarments, her long golden hair rippling and waving around her. As the\nlast fastening of her armor gave way, she opened wide her beautiful\neyes, gazed in rapture upon the rising sun, and after greeting it with\nenthusiasm she turned to her deliverer, whom she loved at first sight,\nas he loved her.\n\n \u201cThen she turned and gazed on Sigurd, and her eyes met the\n Volsung\u2019s eyes.\n And mighty and measureless now did the tide of his love arise,\n For their longing had met and mingled, and he knew of her heart\n that she loved,\n And she spake unto nothing but him, and her lips with the speech-flood\n moved.\u201d\n\nThe maiden now proceeded to inform Sigurd that she was Brunhild,\naccording to some authorities the daughter of an earthly king. Odin had\nraised her to the rank of a Valkyr, in which capacity she had served\nhim faithfully for a long while. But once she had ventured to set\nher own wishes above his, and, instead of leaving the victory to the\nold king for whom he had designated it, had favored his younger and\ntherefore more attractive opponent.\n\nIn punishment for this act of disobedience, she was deprived of her\noffice and banished to earth, where Allfather decreed she must marry\nlike any other member of her sex. This sentence filled Brunhild\u2019s heart\nwith dismay, for she greatly feared lest it might be her fate to mate\nwith a coward, whom she would despise. To quiet these apprehensions,\nOdin placed her on Hindarfiall or Hindfell, stung her with the Thorn of\nSleep, that she might await in unchanged youth and beauty the coming of\nher destined husband and surrounded her with a barrier of flame which\nnone but the bravest would venture to pass through.\n\nFrom the top of the Hindarfiall, Brunhild now pointed out to Sigurd\nher former home, at Lymdale or Hunaland, telling him he would find her\nthere whenever he chose to come and claim her as his wife; and then,\nwhile they stood on the lonely mountain top together, Sigurd placed the\nring Andvaranaut upon her hand, in sign of betrothal, swearing to love\nher alone as long as life endured.\n\n[Illustration: BRUNHILD\u2019S AWAKENING.--Th. Pixis.]\n\n \u201cFrom his hand then draweth Sigurd Andvari\u2019s ancient Gold;\n There is naught but the sky above them as the ring together they hold,\n The shapen-ancient token, that hath no change nor end,\n No change, and no beginning, no flaw for God to mend:\n Then Sigurd cries: \u2018O Brynhild, now hearken while I swear\n That the sun shall die in the heavens and the day no more be fair,\n If I seek not love in Lymdale and the house that fostered thee,\n And the land where thou awakedst \u2019twixt the woodland and the sea!\n And she cried: \u2018O Sigurd, Sigurd, now hearken while I swear\n That the day shall die forever and the sun to blackness wear,\n Ere I forget thee, Sigurd, as I lie \u2019twixt wood and sea\n In the little land of Lymdale and the house that fostered me!\u2019\u201d\n\n[Sidenote: The fostering of Aslaug.]\n\nAccording to some authorities, after thus plighting their troth the\nlovers parted; according to others, Sigurd soon sought out and married\nBrunhild, with whom he lived for a while in perfect happiness, until\nforced to leave her and his infant daughter Aslaug. This child, left\norphaned at three years of age, was fostered by Brunhild\u2019s father, who,\ndriven away from home, concealed her in a cunningly fashioned harp,\nuntil reaching a distant land he was murdered by a peasant couple for\nthe sake of the gold they supposed it to contain. Their surprise and\ndisappointment were great indeed when, on breaking the instrument open,\nthey found a beautiful little girl, whom they deemed mute, as she would\nnot speak a word. Time passed on, and the child, whom they had trained\nto do all their labor, grew up to be a beautiful maiden who won the\naffections of a passing viking, Ragnar Lodbrog, King of the Danes, to\nwhom she told her tale. After a year\u2019s probation, during which he won\nglory in many lands, he came back and married her.\n\n \u201cShe heard a voice she deemed well known,\n Long waited through dull hours bygone,\n And round her mighty arms were cast:\n But when her trembling red lips passed\n From out the heaven of that dear kiss,\n And eyes met eyes, she saw in his\n Fresh pride, fresh hope, fresh love, and saw\n The long sweet days still onward draw,\n Themselves still going hand in hand,\n As now they went adown the strand.\u201d\n\n THE FOSTERING OF ASLAUG (William Morris).\n\nThe story of Sigurd and Brunhild did not end on the Hindarfial,\nhowever, for the hero soon went to seek adventures in the great world,\nwhere he had vowed, in true knightly fashion, to right the wrong and\ndefend the fatherless and oppressed.\n\n[Sidenote: The Niblungs.]\n\nIn the course of his wanderings, Sigurd finally came to the land of\nthe Niblungs, the land of continual mist, where Giuki and Grimhild\nwere king and queen. The latter was specially powerful, as she was\nwell versed in magic lore and could not only weave spells and mutter\nincantations, but could also concoct marvelous potions which would\nsteep the drinker in temporary forgetfulness and make him yield to\nwhatever she wished.\n\nThe Niblung king was father of three sons, Gunnar, H\u00f6gni, and Guttorm,\nwho were brave young men, and of one daughter, Gudrun, the gentlest as\nwell as the most beautiful of maidens. Sigurd was warmly welcomed by\nGiuki, and invited to tarry awhile. He accepted the invitation, shared\nall the pleasures and occupations of the Niblungs, even accompanying\nthem to war, where he distinguished himself by his valor, and so won\nthe admiration of Grimhild that she resolved to secure him as her\ndaughter\u2019s husband at any price. She therefore brewed one of her magic\npotions, which she bade Gudrun give him, and when he had partaken of\nit, he utterly forgot Brunhild and his plighted troth, and gazed upon\nGudrun with an admiration which by the queen\u2019s machinations was soon\nchanged to ardent love.\n\n \u201cBut the heart was changed in Sigurd; as though it ne\u2019er had been\n His love of Brynhild perished as he gazed on the Niblung Queen:\n Brynhild\u2019s beloved body was e\u2019en as a wasted hearth,\n No more for bale or blessing, for plenty or for dearth.\u201d\n\nAlthough haunted by a vague dread that he had forgotten something\nimportant, Sigurd asked for and obtained Gudrun\u2019s hand, and celebrated\nhis wedding amid the rejoicings of the people, who loved him very\ndearly. He gave his bride some of Fafnir\u2019s heart to eat, and the moment\nshe had tasted it her nature was changed, and she began to grow cold\nand silent to all except him. Sigurd further cemented his alliance with\nthe eldest two Giukings (as the sons of Giuki were called) by stepping\ndown into the doom ring with them, cutting out a sod which was placed\nupon a shield, beneath which they stood while they bared and slightly\ncut their right arms, and allowing their blood to mingle in the fresh\nearth, over which the sod was again laid after they had sworn eternal\nfriendship.\n\nBut although Sigurd loved his wife and felt true brotherly affection\nfor her brothers, he could not get rid of his haunting sense of\noppression, and was seldom seen to smile as radiantly as of old. Giuki\nhaving died, Grimhild besought Gunnar, his successor, to take a wife,\nsuggesting that none seemed more worthy to become Queen of the Niblungs\nthan Brunhild, who, it was reported, sat in a golden hall surrounded\nby flames, whence she had declared she would issue only to marry the\nwarrior who would dare pass through the fire to her side.\n\n[Sidenote: Gunnar\u2019s stratagem.]\n\nGunnar immediately prepared to seek this bride, and strengthened by\none of his mother\u2019s magic potions, and encouraged by Sigurd, who\naccompanied him, he felt very confident of success. But when he would\ndaringly have ridden straight into the fire, his steed drew back\naffrighted and he could not induce him to advance a step. Seeing that\nGreyfell did not flinch, he asked him of Sigurd; but although the steed\nallowed Gunnar to mount, he would not stir unless his master were on\nhis back. Gunnar, disappointed, sprang to earth and accepted Sigurd\u2019s\nproposal to assume his face and form, ride through the flames, and woo\nthe bride by proxy. This deception could easily be carried out, thanks\nto the Helmet of Dread, and to a magic potion which Grimhild had given\nGunnar.\n\nThe transformation having been brought about, Greyfell bounded through\nthe flames with his master, and bore him to the palace door, where\nhe dismounted, and entering the large hall came into the presence of\nBrunhild, whom he failed to recognize, owing to Grimhild\u2019s spell.\nBrunhild started back in dismay when she saw the dark-haired knight,\nfor she had deemed it utterly impossible for any but Sigurd to cross\nthe flames, and she, too, did not know her lover in his altered guise.\n\nReluctantly she rose from her seat to receive him, and as she had bound\nherself by a solemn oath to accept as husband the man who braved the\nflames, she allowed him to take his lawful place by her side. Sigurd\nsilently approached, carefully laid his drawn sword between them, and\nsatisfied Brunhild\u2019s curiosity concerning this singular behavior by\ntelling her that the gods had bidden him celebrate his wedding thus.\n\n \u201cThere they went in one bed together; but the foster-brother laid\n \u2019Twixt him and the body of Brynhild his bright blue battle-blade,\n And she looked and heeded it nothing; but, e\u2019en as the dead folk lie,\n With folded hands she lay there, and let the night go by:\n And as still lay that image of Gunnar as the dead of life forlorn,\n And hand on hand he folded as he waited for the morn.\n So oft in the moonlit minster your fathers may ye see\n By the side of the ancient mothers await the day to be.\u201d\n\nThree days passed thus, and when the fourth morning dawned, Sigurd drew\nthe ring Andvaranaut from Brunhild\u2019s hand, replaced it by another, and\nreceived her solemn promise that in ten days\u2019 time she would appear at\nthe Niblung court to take up her duties as queen and be a faithful wife.\n\n[Illustration: GUDRUN GIVING THE MAGIC DRINK TO SIGURD.--Th. Pixis.]\n\n \u201cI thank thee, King, for thy goodwill, and thy pledge of love I take.\n Depart with my troth to thy people: but ere full ten days are o\u2019er\n I shall come to the Sons of the Niblungs, and then shall we\n part no more\n Till the day of the change of our life-days, when Odin and Freya\n shall call.\u201d\n\nThen Sigurd again passed out of the palace through the ashes lying\nwhite and cold, and joined Gunnar, with whom he hastened to exchange\nforms once more, after he had reported the success of his venture. The\nwarriors rode homeward together, and Sigurd revealed only to Gudrun the\nsecret of her brother\u2019s wooing, giving her the fatal ring, which he\nlittle suspected would be the cause of many woes.\n\nTrue to her promise, Brunhild appeared ten days later, solemnly\nblessed the house she was about to enter, greeted Gunnar kindly, and\nallowed him to conduct her to the great hall, where she saw Sigurd\nseated beside Gudrun. He looked up at the selfsame moment, and as he\nencountered Brunhild\u2019s reproachful glance Grimhild\u2019s spell was broken\nand he was struck by an anguished recollection of the happy past. It\nwas too late, however: they were both in honor bound, he to Gudrun and\nshe to Gunnar, whom she passively followed to the high seat, where she\nsat beside him listening to the songs of the bards.\n\nBut, although apparently calm, Brunhild\u2019s heart was hot with anger,\nand she silently nursed her wrath, often stealing out of her husband\u2019s\npalace to wander alone in the forest, where she could give vent to her\ngrief.\n\nIn the mean while, Gunnar, seeing his wife so coldly indifferent to\nall his protestations of affection, began to have jealous suspicions\nand wondered whether Sigurd had honestly told the whole story of the\nwooing, and whether he had not taken advantage of his position to\nwin Brunhild\u2019s love. Sigurd alone continued the even tenor of his\nway, doing good to all, fighting none but tyrants and oppressors, and\ncheering all he met by his kindly words and smile.\n\n[Sidenote: Quarrel of the queens.]\n\nOne day the queens went down to the Rhine to bathe, and as they were\nentering the water Gudrun claimed precedence by right of her husband\u2019s\ncourage. Brunhild refused to yield what she deemed her right, and a\nquarrel ensued, in the course of which Gudrun accused her sister-in-law\nof infidelity, producing the ring Andvaranaut in support of her\ncharge. Crushed by this revelation, Brunhild hastened homeward, and\nlay on her bed in speechless grief day after day, until all thought\nshe would die. In vain did Gunnar and all the members of the royal\nfamily seek her in turn and implore her to speak; she would not utter\na word until Sigurd came and inquired the cause of her great grief.\nLike a long-pent-up stream, her love and anger now burst forth, and\nshe overwhelmed the hero with reproaches, until his heart swelled with\ngrief for her sorrow and burst the tight bands of his strong armor.\n\n \u201cOut went Sigurd\n From that interview\n Into the hall of kings,\n Writhing with anguish;\n So that began to start\n The ardent warrior\u2019s\n Iron-woven sark\n Off from his sides.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nBut although he even offered to repudiate Gudrun to reinstate her in\nher former rights, she refused to listen to his words, and dismissed\nhim, saying that she must never prove faithless to Gunnar. Her pride\nwas such, however, that she could not endure the thought that two\nliving men had called her wife, and the next time her husband sought\nher presence she implored him to put Sigurd to death, thus increasing\nhis jealousy and suspicions. He refused to grant this prayer because he\nhad sworn good fellowship with Sigurd, and she prevailed upon H\u00f6gni to\nwork her will. As he, too, did not wish to violate his oath, he induced\nGuttorm, by means of much persuasion and one of Grimhild\u2019s potions, to\ndo the dastardly deed.\n\n[Sidenote: Death of Sigurd.]\n\nIn the dead of night, Guttorm stole into Sigurd\u2019s chamber, sword in\nhand; but as he bent over the bed he saw Sigurd\u2019s bright eyes fixed\nupon him, and fled precipitately. Later on he returned and the same\nscene was repeated; but towards morning, when he stole in for the\nthird time, he found the hero asleep and traitorously drove his spear\nthrough his back.\n\nMortally wounded, Sigurd raised himself in bed, grasped his wonderful\nsword hanging beside him, flung it full at the flying murderer, and cut\nhim in two just as he reached the door. His last remaining strength\nthus exhausted, Sigurd sank back, whispered a last farewell to the\nterrified Gudrun, and breathed his last.\n\n \u201c\u2018Mourn not, O Gudrun, this stroke is the last of ill;\n Fear leaveth the house of the Niblungs on this breaking of the morn;\n Mayest thou live, O woman belov\u00e8d, unforsaken, unforlorn!\n It is Brynhild\u2019s deed,\u2019 he murmured, \u2018and the woman that loves me well;\n Naught now is left to repent of, and the tale abides to tell.\n I have done many deeds in my life-days; and all these, and my\n love they lie\n In the hollow hand of Odin till the day of the world go by.\n I have done and I may not undo, I have given and I take not again:\n Art thou other than I, Allfather, wilt thou gather my glory in vain?\u2019\u201d\n\nSigurd\u2019s infant son was also slain, and poor Gudrun mourned over her\ndead in speechless, tearless grief; while Brunhild laughed aloud,\nthereby incurring the wrath of Gunnar, who repented now, but too late,\nof his share in the dastardly crime.\n\nWhile the assembled people were erecting a mighty funeral pyre--which\nthey decorated with precious hangings, fresh flowers, and glittering\narms, as was the custom for the burial of a prince--Gudrun was\nsurrounded by women, who, seeing her tearless anguish, and fearing lest\nher heart would break if her tears did not flow, began to recount the\nbitterest sorrows they had known, one even telling of the loss of all\nshe held dear. But their attempts to make her weep were utterly vain,\nuntil they laid her husband\u2019s head in her lap, bidding her kiss him as\nif he were still alive; then her tears began to flow in torrents.\n\nThe reaction soon set in for Brunhild also; her resentment was all\nforgotten when she saw Sigurd laid on the pyre in all his martial\narray, with the burnished armor, the Helmet of Dread, and the trappings\nof his horse, which was to be burned with him, as well as several of\nhis faithful servants who could not survive his loss. She withdrew to\nher apartment, distributed all her wealth among her handmaidens, donned\nher richest array, and stretching herself out upon her bed stabbed\nherself.\n\nIn dying accents she then bade Gunnar lay her beside the hero she\nloved, with the glittering, unsheathed sword between them, as it had\nlain when he had wooed her by proxy. When she had breathed her last,\nthese orders were punctually executed, and both bodies were burned amid\nthe lamentations of all the Niblungs.\n\n \u201cThey are gone--the lovely, the mighty, the hope of the ancient Earth:\n It shall labor and bear the burden as before that day of their birth:\n It shall groan in its blind abiding for the day that Sigurd hath sped,\n And the hour that Brynhild hath hastened, and the dawn that\n waketh the dead:\n It shall yearn, and be oft-times holpen, and forget their deeds no\n more,\n Till the new sun beams on Balder and the happy sealess shore.\u201d\n\nAccording to another version of the story, Sigurd was treacherously\nslain by the Giukings while hunting in the forest, and his body was\nborne home by the hunters and laid at his wife\u2019s feet.\n\nGudrun, still inconsolable, and loathing the kindred who had thus\ntreacherously robbed her of all her joy, fled from her father\u2019s house\nand took refuge with Elf, Sigurd\u2019s foster father, who, after Hiordis\u2019s\ndeath, had married Thora, the daughter of King Hakon. The two women\nbecame great friends, and here Gudrun tarried several years, working\ntapestry in which she embroidered the great deeds of Sigurd, and\nwatching over her little daughter Swanhild, whose bright eyes reminded\nher so vividly of the husband whom she had lost.\n\n[Illustration: BRUNHILD.--Th. Pixis.]\n\n[Sidenote: Atli, King of the Huns.]\n\nIn the mean while, Atli, Brunhild\u2019s brother, who was now King of the\nHuns, had sent to Gunnar to demand atonement for his sister\u2019s death;\nand to satisfy these claims Gunnar had promised that in due time he\nwould give him Gudrun\u2019s hand in marriage. Time passed, and when at last\nAtli clamored for the fulfillment of his promise, the Niblung brothers,\nwith their mother Grimhild, went to seek the long-absent Gudrun, and\nby their persuasions and the magic potion administered by Grimhild\nsucceeded in persuading her to leave little Swanhild in Denmark and\nbecome Atli\u2019s wife.\n\nGudrun dwelt, year after year, in the land of the Huns, secretly hating\nher husband, whose avaricious tendencies were extremely repugnant to\nher; and she was not even consoled for Sigurd\u2019s death and Swanhild\u2019s\nloss by the birth of two sons, Erp and Eitel. As she lovingly thought\nof the past she often spoke of it, little suspecting that her\ndescriptions of the wealth of the Niblungs excited Atli\u2019s greed, and\nthat he was secretly planning some pretext for getting it into his\npower.\n\nFinally he decided to send Knefrud or Wingi, one of his subjects, to\ninvite all the Niblung princes to visit his court, intending to slay\nthem when he should have them at his mercy; but Gudrun, fathoming this\ndesign, sent a runic-written warning to her brothers, together with the\nring Andvaranaut, around which she had twined a wolf\u2019s hair. On the\nway, however, the messenger partly effaced the runes, thus changing\ntheir meaning; and when he appeared before the Niblungs, Gunnar\naccepted the invitation, in spite of H\u00f6gni\u2019s and Grimhild\u2019s warnings\nand the ominous dream of his new wife Glaumvor.\n\n[Sidenote: Burial of the Niblung treasure.]\n\nBefore his departure, however, they prevailed upon him to secretly bury\nthe great Niblung hoard in the Rhine, where it was sunk in a deep hole,\nthe position of which was known to the royal brothers only, and which\nthey took a solemn oath never to reveal.\n\n \u201cDown then and whirling outward the ruddy Gold fell forth,\n As a flame in the dim gray morning flashed out a kingdom\u2019s worth;\n Then the waters roared above it, the wan water and the foam\n Flew up o\u2019er the face of the rock-wall as the tinkling Gold fell home,\n Unheard, unseen forever, a wonder and a tale,\n Till the last of earthly singers from the sons of men shall fail.\u201d\n\n[Sidenote: The treachery of Atli.]\n\nIn martial array they then rode out of the city of the Niblungs, which\nthey were never again to see, and after many unimportant adventures\ncame into the land of the Huns, where, on reaching Atli\u2019s hall and\nfinding themselves surrounded by foes, they slew the traitor Knefrud,\nand prepared to sell their lives as dearly as possible.\n\nGudrun rushed to meet them, embraced them tenderly, and, seeing that\nthey must fight, grasped a weapon and loyally helped them in the\nterrible massacre which ensued. When the first onslaught was over,\nGunnar kept up the spirits of his followers by playing on his harp,\nwhich he laid aside only to grasp his sword and make havoc among the\nfoe. Thrice the brave Niblungs resisted the assault of the Huns ere,\nwounded, faint, and weary, Gunnar and H\u00f6gni, now sole survivors, fell\ninto the hands of their foes, who bound them securely and led them off\nto prison to await death.\n\nAtli, who had prudently abstained from taking any active part in the\nfight, had his brothers-in-law brought in turn before him, promising\nfreedom if they would only reveal the hiding place of the golden hoard;\nbut they proudly kept silence, and it was only after much torture that\nGunnar acknowledged that he had sworn a solemn oath never to reveal\nthe secret as long as H\u00f6gni lived, and declared he would believe his\nbrother dead only when his heart was brought to him on a platter.\n\n \u201cWith a dreadful voice cried Gunnar: \u2018O fool, hast thou heard it told\n Who won the Treasure aforetime and the ruddy rings of the Gold?\n It was Sigurd, child of the Volsungs, the best sprung forth\n from the best:\n He rode from the North and the mountains, and became my summer-guest,\n My friend and my brother sworn: he rode the Wavering Fire,\n And won me the Queen of Glory and accomplished my desire;\n The praise of the world he was, the hope of the biders in wrong,\n The help of the lowly people, the hammer of the strong:\n Ah! oft in the world, henceforward, shall the tale be told\n of the deed,\n And I, e\u2019en I, will tell it in the day of the Niblungs\u2019 Need:\n For I sat night-long in my armor, and when light was wide o\u2019er the land\n I slaughtered Sigurd my brother, and looked on the work of mine hand.\n And now, O mighty Atli, I have seen the Niblung\u2019s wreck,\n And the feet of the faint-heart dastard have trodden Gunnar\u2019s neck;\n And if all be little enough, and the Gods begrudge me rest,\n Let me see the heart of H\u00f6gni cut quick from his living breast\n And laid on the dish before me: and then shall I tell of the Gold,\n And become thy servant, Atli, and my life at thy pleasure hold.\u2019\u201d\n\nUrged by greed, Atli immediately ordered that H\u00f6gni\u2019s heart should be\nbrought; but his servants, fearing to lay hands on such a grim warrior,\nslew the cowardly scullion Hialli. This trembling heart called forth\ncontemptuous words from Gunnar, who declared such a timorous organ\ncould never have belonged to his fearless brother. But when, in answer\nto a second angry command from Atli, the unquivering heart of H\u00f6gni\nwas really brought, Gunnar recognized it, and turning to the monarch\nsolemnly swore that since the secret now rested with him alone it would\nnever be revealed.\n\n[Sidenote: The last of the Niblungs.]\n\nLivid with anger, the king bade him be thrown, with bound hands, into a\nden of venomous snakes, where, his harp having been flung after him in\nderision, Gunnar calmly sat, playing it with his toes, and lulling all\nthe reptiles to sleep save one only. This snake was said to be Atli\u2019s\nmother in disguise, and it finally bit him in the side, silencing his\ntriumphant song forever.\n\nTo celebrate the death of his foes, Atli ordered a great feast,\ncommanding Gudrun to be present to wait upon him. Then he heartily\nate and drank, little suspecting that his wife had slain both his\nsons, and was serving up their roasted hearts and their blood mixed\nwith wine in cups made of their skulls. When the king and his men were\nintoxicated, Gudrun, according to one version of the story, set fire to\nthe palace, and when the drunken sleepers awoke, too late to escape,\nshe revealed all she had done, stabbed her husband, and perished in\nthe flames with the Huns. According to another version, however, she\nmurdered Atli with Sigurd\u2019s sword, placed his body on a ship, which she\nsent adrift, and then cast herself into the sea, where she was drowned.\n\n \u201cShe spread out her arms as she spake it, and away from the\n earth she leapt\n And cut off her tide of returning; for the sea-waves over her swept,\n And their will is her will henceforward, and who knoweth the\n deeps of the sea,\n And the wealth of the bed of Gudrun, and the days that yet shall be?\u201d\n\nA third and very different version reports that Gudrun was not drowned,\nbut was borne along by the waves to the land where Jonakur was king.\nThere she became his wife, and the mother of three sons, S\u00f6rli,\nHamdir, and Erp. She also recovered possession of her beloved daughter\nSwanhild, who, in the mean while, had grown into a beautiful maiden of\nmarriageable age.\n\n[Sidenote: Swanhild.]\n\nSwanhild was finally promised to Ermenrich, King of Gothland, who sent\nhis son, Randwer, and one of his subjects, Sibich, to escort the bride\nto his kingdom. Sibich, who was a traitor, and had planned to compass\nthe death of the royal family that he might claim the kingdom, accused\nRandwer of having tried to win his young stepmother\u2019s affections, and\nthereby so roused the anger of Ermenrich that he ordered his son to be\nhanged, and Swanhild to be trampled to death under the feet of wild\nhorses. But such was the beauty of this daughter of Sigurd and Gudrun\nthat even the wild steeds could not be urged to touch her until she had\nbeen hidden from their view under a great blanket, when they trod her\nto death under their cruel hoofs.\n\n[Illustration: H\u00d6GNI THROWING THE TREASURE INTO THE RHINE.--Julius\nSchnorr.]\n\nGudrun, hearing of this, called her three sons to her side, and\nprovided them with armor and weapons against which nothing but stone\ncould prevail. Then, after bidding them depart and avenge their\nmurdered sister, she died of grief, and was burned on a great pyre. The\nthree youths, S\u00f6rli, Hamdir, and Erp, invaded Ermenrich\u2019s kingdom, but\nthe two eldest, deeming Erp too young to assist them, taunted him with\nhis small size, and finally slew him. They then attacked Ermenrich, cut\noff his hands and feet, and would have slain him had not a one-eyed\nstranger suddenly appeared and bidden the bystanders throw stones at\nthe young invaders. His orders were immediately carried out, and S\u00f6rli\nand Hamdir both fell under the shower of stones, which alone had power\nto injure them according to Gudrun\u2019s words.\n\n \u201cYe have heard of Sigurd aforetime, how the foes of God he slew;\n How forth from the darksome desert the Gold of the Waters he drew;\n How he wakened Love on the Mountain, and wakened Brynhild the Bright,\n And dwelt upon Earth for a season, and shone in all men\u2019s sight.\n Ye have heard of the Cloudy People, and the dimming of the day,\n And the latter world\u2019s confusion, and Sigurd gone away;\n Now ye know of the Need of the Niblungs and the end of broken troth,\n All the death of kings and of kindreds and the Sorrow of Odin the Goth.\u201d\n\n[Sidenote: Interpretation of the Saga.]\n\nThis story of the Volsungs is supposed by some authorities to be a\nseries of sun myths, in which Sigi, Rerir, Volsung, Sigmund, and\nSigurd in turn personify the glowing orb of day. They are all armed\nwith invincible swords, the sunbeams, and all travel through the world\nfighting against their foes, the demons of cold and darkness. Sigurd,\nlike Balder, is beloved of all; he marries Brunhild, the dawn maiden,\nwhom he finds in the midst of flames, the flush of morn, and parts from\nher only to find her again when his career is ended. His body is burned\non the funeral pyre, which, like Balder\u2019s, represents either the\nsetting sun or the last gleam of summer, of which he too is a type. The\nslaying of Fafnir is the destruction of the demon of cold or darkness,\nwho has stolen the golden hoard of summer or the yellow rays of the sun.\n\nAccording to other authorities this Saga is based upon history. Atli is\nthe cruel Attila, the \u201cScourge of God,\u201d while Gunnar is Gundicarius, a\nBurgundian monarch, whose kingdom was destroyed by the Huns, and who\nwas slain with his brothers in 451. Gudrun is the Burgundian princess\nIldico, who slew her husband on her wedding night, as has already been\nrelated, using the glittering blade which had once belonged to the\nsun-god to avenge her murdered kinsmen.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII.\n\nTHE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS.\n\n\nOne of the distinctive features of Northern mythology is that the\npeople always believed that their gods belonged to a finite race. The\n\u00c6sir had had a beginning; therefore, it was reasoned, they must have an\nend; and as they were born from a mixture of the divine and gigantic\nelements, and were imperfect, they bore within them the germ of death,\nand were, like men, doomed to endure physical death to attain spiritual\nimmortality.\n\n[Sidenote: The decline of the gods.]\n\nThe whole scheme of Northern mythology was therefore a drama, every\nstep leading gradually to the climax or tragic end, when, with true\npoetic justice, punishment and reward were impartially meted out. In\nthe foregoing chapters, the gradual rise and decline of the gods has\nbeen carefully traced. We have recounted how the \u00c6sir tolerated the\npresence of evil, personated by Loki, in their midst; how they weakly\nfollowed his advice, allowed him to involve them in all manner of\ndifficulties from which they could be extricated only at the price\nof some of their virtue or peace, and finally permitted him to gain\nsuch ascendency over them that he dared rob them of their dearest\npossession, purity, or innocence, as personified by Balder the good.\n\nToo late now, the gods realized what an evil spirit had found a home\namong them, and banished Loki to earth, where men, following the gods\u2019\nexample, listened to his teachings, and instead of cultivating virtue\nbecame addicted to crime.\n\n \u201cBrothers slay brothers;\n Sisters\u2019 children\n Shed each other\u2019s blood.\n Hard is the world;\n Sensual sin grows huge.\n There are sword-ages, ax-ages;\n Shields are cleft in twain;\n Storm-ages, murder-ages;\n Till the world falls dead,\n And men no longer spare\n Or pity one another.\u201d\n\n NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\n[Sidenote: The Fimbulwinter.]\n\nSeeing crime rampant, and all good banished from the earth, the gods\nrealized that the prophecies uttered long before were about to be\nfulfilled, and that their downfall, Ragnarok, the twilight or dusk of\nthe gods, would soon come to pass. Sol and Mani grew pale with horror,\nand tremblingly drove their chariots along their appointed paths,\ngazing with fear behind them at the pursuing wolves which would shortly\novertake and devour them; and as their smiles disappeared the earth\ngrew sad and cold, and the terrible Fimbulwinter began. Then snow fell\nfrom the four points of the compass at once, the biting winds swept\ndown from the north, and all the earth was covered with a thick layer\nof ice.\n\n \u201cGrim Fimbul raged, and o\u2019er the world\n Tempestuous winds and snowstorms hurled;\n The roaring ocean icebergs ground,\n And flung its frozen foam around,\n E\u2019en to the top of mountain height;\n No warming air\n Nor radiance fair\n Of gentle Summer\u2019s soft\u2019ning light,\n Tempered this dreadful glacial night.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nThis severe winter lasted during three whole seasons without a break,\nand was followed by three others, equally severe, during which all\ncheer departed from the earth, where the crimes of men increased with\nfearful rapidity, and where, in the general struggle for life, the last\nfeelings of humanity and compassion disappeared.\n\n[Sidenote: The wolves let loose.]\n\nIn the dim recesses of the Ironwood the giantess Iarnsaxa or Angur-boda\ndiligently fed the wolves Hati, Sk\u00f6ll, and Managarm, the progeny of\nFenris, with the marrow of murderers\u2019 and adulterers\u2019 bones; and such\nwas the prevalence of these vile crimes, that the almost insatiable\nmonsters were never stinted in food, and daily gained more strength to\npursue Sol and Mani, whom they finally overtook and devoured, deluging\nthe earth with the blood from their dripping jaws.\n\n \u201cIn the east she was seated, that aged woman, in Jarnrid,\n And there she nourished the posterity of Fenrir;\n He will be the most formidable of all, he\n Who, under the form of a monster, will swallow up the moon.\u201d\n\n VOLUSPA (Pfeiffer\u2019s tr.).\n\nAs this terrible calamity occurred the whole earth trembled and shook,\nthe stars, affrighted, fell from their places, and Loki, Fenris, and\nGarm, renewing their efforts, rent their chains asunder and rushed\nforth to take their revenge. At the same moment the dragon Nidhug\ngnawed through the root of the ash Yggdrasil, which quivered to its\ntopmost bough; the red cock Fialar, perched above Valhalla, loudly\ncrowed an alarm, which was immediately echoed by Gullin-kambi, the\nrooster in Midgard, and by Hel\u2019s dark-red bird in Nifl-heim.\n\n \u201cThe gold-combed cock\n The gods in Valhal loudly crow\u2019d to arms;\n The blood-red cock as shrilly summons all\n On earth and down beneath it.\u201d\n\n VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\n[Sidenote: Heimdall gives the alarm.]\n\nHeimdall, seeing these ominous portents and hearing the cocks\u2019 shrill\ncry, immediately put the Giallar-horn to his lips and blew the\nlong-expected blast, which was heard throughout the whole world. At the\nfirst sound of this rallying call \u00c6sir and Einheriar sprang from their\ngolden couches, armed themselves for the coming fray, sallied bravely\nout of the great hall, and, mounting their impatient steeds, galloped\nover the quivering rainbow bridge to the spacious field of Vigrid,\nwhere, as Vafthrudnir had predicted so long before, the last battle was\nto take place.\n\n[Sidenote: The terrors of the sea.]\n\nThe terrible Midgard snake I\u00f6rmungandr, aroused by the general\ncommotion, writhed and twisted in the bottom of the sea, wriggled out\nof the deep, lashed the waters with his tail, and, crawling upon land,\nhastened to join the fray, in which he was to play a prominent part.\n\n \u201cIn giant wrath the Serpent tossed\n In ocean depths, till, free from chain,\n He rose upon the foaming main;\n Beneath the lashings of his tail,\n Seas, mountain high, swelled on the land;\n Then, darting mad the waves acrost,\n Pouring forth bloody froth like hail,\n Spurting with poisoned, venomed breath\n Foul deadly mists o\u2019er all the Earth,\n Thro\u2019 thundering surge, he sought the strand.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nOne of the great waves, stirred up by I\u00f6rmungandr\u2019s struggles, set\nafloat the fatal ship Nagilfar, constructed entirely out of the nails\nof the dead, many relatives having failed, in the course of time, to do\ntheir duty and show the respect due to the deceased, whose nails should\nhave been pared ere they were laid at rest. As soon as this vessel was\nafloat, Loki boarded it with the fiery host from Muspells-heim, and\nsteered it boldly over the stormy waters to the place of conflict.\n\nThis was not the only vessel bound for Vigrid, however, for out of a\nthick fog bank towards the north came another ship, steered by Hrym, in\nwhich were all the frost giants, armed to the teeth, and eager for a\nconflict with the \u00c6sir, whom they had always hated.\n\nThrough a crevice Hel, the party-colored goddess of death, crept out of\nher underground home, closely followed by the Hel-hound Garm, all the\nmalefactors of her cheerless realm, and the dragon Nidhug, which flew\nover the battlefield bearing corpses upon his wings.\n\nSeeing these reinforcements to his party as soon as he landed, Loki\nwelcomed them with joy, and placing himself at their head led them on\nto the fight.\n\nJust then the skies were suddenly rent asunder, and through the fiery\nbreach rode Surtr with his flaming sword, followed by his sons; and as\nthey attempted to storm Asgard by riding over the bridge Bifr\u00f6st, the\nglorious arch sank with a crash beneath their horses\u2019 tread.\n\n \u201cDown thro\u2019 the fields of air,\n With glittering armor fair,\n In battle order bright,\n They sped while seething flame\n From rapid hoofstrokes came.\n Leading his gleaming band, rode Surtur,\n \u2019Mid the red ranks of raging fire.\u201d\n\n VALHALLA (J.\u00a0C. Jones).\n\nThe gods now knew full well that their end was near, and that through\nweakness and lack of foresight they were laboring under great\ndisadvantages; for Odin had but one eye, Tyr but one hand, and Frey\nnothing but a stag\u2019s horn wherewith to defend himself, instead of his\ninvincible sword. Nevertheless, the \u00c6sir did not show any signs of\nflinching or despair, but, like true Northern warriors, donned their\nrichest attire, and gaily rode to the battlefield, determined to\nsell their lives as dearly as possible, and harboring no thought of\nsurrender.\n\n[Sidenote: The great battle.]\n\nWhile they were mustering their forces, Odin once more rode down to the\nUrdar fountain, where, under the wilting Yggdrasil, the Norns sat, with\nveiled faces, their torn web lying at their feet, obstinately refusing\nto utter a single word. Once more the father of the gods whispered\na mysterious communication to Mimir, then he remounted Sleipnir and\nwent to join the waiting host. On Vigrid\u2019s broad plain the combatants\nwere now all assembled; on one side the stern, calm faces of the \u00c6sir,\nVanas, and Einheriar, on the other the flashing host of Surtr, the grim\nfrost giants, the pale army of Hel--Loki leading Garm, Fenris, and\nI\u00f6rmungandr, the two latter belching forth fire and smoke and exhaling\nclouds of noxious, deathly vapors, which filled all heaven and earth\nwith their poisonous breath.\n\n \u201cThe years roll on,\n The generations pass, the ages grow,\n And bring us nearer to the final day\n When from the south shall march the fiery band\n And cross the bridge of heaven, with Lok for guide,\n And Fenris at his heel with broken chain;\n While from the east the giant Rymer steers\n His ship, and the great serpent makes to land;\n And all are marshal\u2019d in one flaming square\n Against the Gods, upon the plains of Heaven.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nAt a given signal the opposing hosts close in battle, fighting, as\ndid our ancestors of old, hand to hand and face to face. Rushing\nimpetuously onward, Odin and the Fenris wolf came into contact, while\nThor attacked the Midgard snake, and Tyr the dog Garm. Frey closed in\nwith Surtr, Heimdall with Loki, whom he had defeated once before, and\nthe remainder of the gods and all the Einheriar selected foes worthy of\ntheir courage and performed unheard-of deeds of valor. But, in spite of\ntheir constant practice and glittering arms, Valhalla\u2019s host was doomed\nto defeat, and Odin, after struggling fiercely with the Fenris wolf,\nsaw it suddenly assume colossal proportions, and open its jaws so wide\nthat they embraced all the space between heaven and earth. Then the\nmonster rushed furiously upon the father of the gods and swallowed him\nwhole.\n\n \u201cFenrir shall with impious tooth\n Slay the sire of rolling years:\n Vithar shall avenge his fall,\n And, struggling with the shaggy wolf,\n Shall cleave his cold and gory jaws.\u201d\n\n VAFTHRUDNI\u2019S-MAL (W. Taylor\u2019s tr.).\n\nNone of the gods could lend Allfather a helping hand at that critical\nmoment, for Frey succumbed beneath Surtr\u2019s flashing sword, Heimdall and\nLoki fell mutually slain, Tyr and Garm dealt and received from each\nother a mortal wound, and Thor, after an indescribable encounter with\nthe Midgard snake, slew him by a blow from Mi\u00f6lnir, staggered back nine\npaces, fell, and was drowned in the flood of venom which poured from\nthe dying monster\u2019s jaws.\n\n \u201cOdin\u2019s son goes\n With the monster to fight;\n Midgard\u2019s Veor in his rage\n Will slay the worm;\n Nine feet will go\n Fi\u00f6rgyn\u2019s son,\n Bowed by the serpent\n Who feared no foe.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nVidar, seeing that his beloved father had succumbed, now came rushing\nfrom the other end of the plain to avenge his death, and planting his\nlarge shoe upon Fenris\u2019s lower jaw, he seized the monster\u2019s upper jaw\nand with one terrible wrench tore him asunder.\n\n[Sidenote: The devouring fire.]\n\nThe other gods who took part in the fray and all the Einheriar having\nnow perished, Surtr suddenly flung his fiery brands all over heaven,\nearth, and the nine kingdoms of Hel. The raging flames rose higher and\nhigher, curled round the stalwart stem of the world ash Yggdrasil,\nconsumed the golden palaces of the gods, destroyed the vegetation upon\nearth, and made all the waters seethe and boil.\n\n \u201cFire\u2019s breath assails\n The all-nourishing tree,\n Towering fire plays\n Against heaven itself.\u201d\n\n S\u00c6MUND\u2019S EDDA (Thorpe\u2019s tr.).\n\nThis fire raged most fiercely until everything was consumed, when the\nearth, blackened and scarred, slowly sank down beneath the boiling\nwaves of the sea. Ragnarok had indeed come; the world tragedy was\nover, the divine actors were slain, and chaos seemed to have returned\nto resume all its former sway. But as in a play, after the actors are\nall slain and the curtain has fallen, the audience still expects the\nprincipal favorites to appear and make a bow, so the ancient Northern\nraces fancied that, all evil having perished in Surtr\u2019s flames,\ngoodness would rise from the general ruin, to resume its sway over the\nearth, and some of the gods would return to dwell in heaven forever.\n\n \u201cAll evil\n Dies there an endless death, while goodness riseth\n From that great world-fire, purified at last,\n To a life far higher, better, nobler than the past.\u201d\n\n VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R.\u00a0B. Anderson).\n\n[Sidenote: Regeneration.]\n\nAs our ancestors believed fully in regeneration, they declared that\nafter a certain space of time the earth, purged by fire and purified by\nits immersion in the sea, would rise again in all its pristine beauty\nand be illumined by the sun, whose chariot was driven by a daughter of\nSol\u2019s, born before the wolf had devoured her mother. The new orb of\nday was not imperfect, as the first sun had been, for its rays were\nno longer so ardent that a shield had to be placed between it and the\nearth, which soon grew green beneath its beneficent rays, and brought\nforth flowers and fruit in abundance. Two human beings, a woman, Lif,\nand a man, Lifthrasir, now emerged from the depths of Hodmimir\u2019s\n(Mimir\u2019s) forest. They had taken refuge there when Surtr set fire to\nthe world, and had sunk into peaceful slumbers, unmindful of the\ndestruction around them, and remained, feeding upon the morning dew,\nuntil it was safe for them to wander out once more and take possession\nof the regenerated earth, which their descendants were to people and\nover which they were to have full sway.\n\n \u201cWe shall see emerge\n From the bright Ocean at our feet an earth\n More fresh, more verdant than the last, with fruits\n Self-springing, and a seed of man preserved,\n Who then shall live in peace, as now in war.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nAll the gods who represented the developing forces of Nature were\nslain on the fatal field of Vigrid, but the imperishable forces of\nNature, typified by Vali and Vidar, returned to the field of Ida, where\nthey were met by Modi and Magni, Thor\u2019s sons, the personifications of\nstrength and energy, who saved their father\u2019s sacred hammer from the\ngeneral destruction, and carried it thither with them.\n\n \u201cVithar\u2019s then and Vali\u2019s force\n Heirs the empty realm of gods;\n Mothi\u2019s thew and Magni\u2019s might\n Sways the massy mallet\u2019s weight,\n Won from Thor, when Thor must fall.\u201d\n\n VAFTHRUDNI\u2019S-MAL (W. Taylor\u2019s tr.).\n\nHere they were joined by Hoenir, no longer an exile among the Vanas,\nwho, as developing forces, had also vanished forever; and out of the\ndark underworld where he had languished so long rose the radiant\nBalder, accompanied by his brother Hodur, with whom he was reconciled,\nand who was now ready to live with him in perfect amity and peace.\nGently and pensively these gods talked of the past, recalled the\nmemory of their former companions, and, searching in the long grass on\nIdavold, found again the golden disks with which the \u00c6sir had been wont\nto play.\n\n \u201cWe shall tread once more the well-known plain\n Of Ida, and among the grass shall find\n The golden dice with which we play\u2019d of yore;\n And that will bring to mind the former life\n And pastime of the Gods, the wise discourse\n Of Odin, the delights of other days.\u201d\n\n BALDER DEAD (Matthew Arnold).\n\nThen, looking towards the place where their lordly dwellings once\nstood, the assembled gods became aware of the fact that Gimli, the\nhighest heavenly abode, had not been consumed, but rose glittering\nbefore them, its golden roof outshining the sun; and when they hastened\nthither they discovered, with unmixed joy, that it had become the place\nof refuge of all the virtuous.\n\n \u201cIn Gimli the lofty\n There shall the hosts\n Of the virtuous dwell,\n And through all ages\n Taste of deep gladness.\u201d\n\n LITERATURE AND ROMANCE OF NORTHERN EUROPE (Howitt).\n\n[Sidenote: One too mighty to name.]\n\nAs the Norsemen who settled in Iceland, and through whom the most\ncomplete exposition of the Odinic faith has come down to us in the\nEddas and Sagas, were not definitely converted until the eleventh\ncentury,--although they had come in contact with Christians during\ntheir viking raids, nearly six centuries before,--it is very probable\nthat the Northern scalds gleaned some idea of the Christian doctrines,\nand that this knowledge influenced them to a certain extent, and\ncolored their descriptions of the end of the world and the regeneration\nof the earth. It was perhaps this vague knowledge, also, which induced\nthem to add to the Edda a verse, which is generally supposed to have\nbeen an interpolation, proclaiming that another God, too mighty to\nname, would rule over Gimli, judge all mankind, separate the bad from\nthe good, banish the former to the horrors of Nastrond, and invite the\nlatter to taste of endless bliss in the halls of Gimli the fair.\n\n \u201cThen comes another,\n Yet more mighty.\n But Him dare I not\n Venture to name.\n Few farther may look\n Than to where Odin\n To meet the wolf goes.\u201d\n\n LITERATURE AND ROMANCE OF NORTHERN EUROPE (Howitt).\n\nThere were two other heavenly mansions, however, one reserved for the\ndwarfs and the other for the giants; for as these creatures had no free\nwill, and blindly executed the decrees of fate, they were not held\nresponsible for any harm they had done, and were not punished.\n\nThe dwarfs, ruled by Sindri, were said to occupy a hall in the Nida\nmountains, where they drank the sparkling mead, while the giants took\ntheir pleasure in the hall Brimer, situated in the region Okolnur (not\ncool), for the power of cold was entirely annihilated, and there was no\nmore ice.\n\nVarious mythologists have, of course, attempted to explain these myths,\nand some, as we have already stated, see in the story of Ragnarok the\ninfluence of Christian teachings and esteem it only a barbaric version\nof the end of the world and the coming judgment day, when a new heaven\nand earth shall arise, and all the good shall enjoy eternal bliss.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII.\n\nGREEK AND NORTHERN MYTHOLOGIES--A COMPARISON.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Comparative mythology.]\n\nDuring the past fifty years the learned men of many nations have\ninvestigated philology and comparative mythology so thoroughly that\nthey have ascertained beyond the possibility of doubt \u201cthat English,\ntogether with all the Teutonic dialects of the Continent, belongs to\nthat large family of speech which comprises, besides the Teutonic,\nLatin, Greek, Slavonic, and Celtic, the Oriental languages of India and\nPersia.\u201d \u201cIt has also been proved that the various tribes who started\nfrom the central home to discover Europe in the north, and India in\nthe south, carried away with them, not only a common language, but\na common faith and a common mythology. These are facts which may be\nignored but cannot be disputed, and the two sciences of comparative\ngrammar and comparative mythology, though but of recent origin, rest\non a foundation as sound and safe as that of any of the inductive\nsciences.\u201d \u201cFor more than a thousand years the Scandinavian inhabitants\nof Norway have been separated in language from their Teutonic brethren\non the Continent, and yet both have not only preserved the same stock\nof popular stories, but they tell them, in several instances, in almost\nthe same words.\u201d\n\nThis resemblance, so strong in the early literature of nations\ninhabiting countries which present much the same physical aspect and\nhave nearly the same climate, is not so marked when we compare the\nNorthern myths with those of the genial South. Still, notwithstanding\nthe contrast between the boreal and south temperate zones, where\nthese myths gradually ripened and attained their full growth, there is\nsufficient analogy between the two mythologies to show that the seeds\nfrom whence both sprang were originally the same.\n\nIn the foregoing chapters the Northern system of mythology has been\noutlined as clearly as possible, and the physical significance of\nthe myths has been explained. Now we shall endeavor to set forth the\nresemblance of Northern mythology to that of the other Aryan nations,\nby comparing it with the Greek, which, however, it does not resemble as\nclosely as it does the Oriental.\n\nIt is, of course, impossible in a brief work of this character to do\nmore than mention the main points of resemblance in the stories forming\nthe basis of these religions; but that will serve to demonstrate, even\nto the most skeptical, that they must have been identical at a period\ntoo remote to indicate now with any certainty.\n\n[Sidenote: The beginning of things.]\n\nThe Northern nations, like the Greeks, imagined that the world rose out\nof chaos; and while the latter described it as a vapory, formless mass,\nthe former, influenced by their immediate surroundings, depicted it as\na chaos of fire and ice--a combination which is only too comprehensible\nto any one who has visited Iceland and seen the wild, peculiar contrast\nbetween its volcanic soil, spouting geysers, and the great icebergs\nwhich hedge it all around during the long, dark winter season.\n\nFrom these opposing elements, fire and ice, were born the first\ndivinities, who, like the first gods of the Greeks, were gigantic in\nstature and uncouth in appearance. Ymir, the huge ice giant, and his\ndescendants, are comparable to the Titans, who were also elemental\nforces of Nature, personifications of subterranean fire; and both,\nhaving held full sway for a time, were obliged to yield to greater\nperfection. After a fierce struggle for supremacy, they all found\nthemselves defeated and banished to the respective remote regions of\nTartarus and J\u00f6tun-heim.\n\nThe triad, Odin, Vili, and Ve, of the Northern myth is the exact\ncounterpart of Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, who, superior to the Titan\nforces, rule supreme over the world in their turn. In the Greek\nmythology, the gods, who are also all related to one another, betake\nthemselves to Olympus, where they build golden palaces for their use;\nand in the Northern mythology the divine conquerors repair to Asgard,\nand there construct similar dwellings.\n\n[Sidenote: Cosmogony.]\n\nNorthern cosmogony was not unlike the Greek, for the people imagined\nthat the earth, Mana-heim, was entirely surrounded by the sea, at the\nbottom of which lay the huge Midgard snake, biting its own tail; and\nit was perfectly natural that, viewing the storm-lashed waves which\nbeat against their shores, they should declare they were the result of\nhis convulsive writhing. The Greeks, who also fancied the earth was\nround and compassed by a mighty river called Oceanus, described it as\nflowing with \u201ca steady, equable current,\u201d for they generally gazed out\nupon calm and sunlit seas. Nifl-heim, the Northern region of perpetual\ncold and mist, had its exact counterpart in the land north of the\nHyperboreans, where feathers (snow) continually hovered in the air, and\nwhere Hercules drove the Cerynean stag into a snowdrift ere he could\nseize and bind it fast.\n\n[Sidenote: The phenomena of the sky.]\n\nLike the Greeks, the Northern races believed that the earth was created\nfirst, and that the vaulted heavens were made afterwards to overshadow\nit entirely. They also imagined that the sun and moon were daily driven\nacross the sky in chariots drawn by fiery steeds. Sol, the sun maiden,\ntherefore corresponded to Helios, Hyperion, Ph\u0153bus, or Apollo, while\nMani, the moon (owing to a peculiarity of Northern grammar, which makes\nthe sun feminine and the moon masculine), was the exact counterpart of\nPh\u0153be, Diana, or Cynthia.\n\nThe Northern scalds, who thought that they descried the prancing forms\nof white-maned steeds in the flying clouds, and the glitter of spears\nin the flashing light of the aurora borealis, said that the Valkyrs,\nor battle maidens, were galloping across the sky, while the Greeks saw\nin the same natural phenomena the white flocks of Apollo guarded by\nPhaethusa and Lampetia.\n\nAs the dew fell from the clouds, the Northern poets declared that it\ndropped from the manes of the Valkyrs\u2019 steeds, while the Greeks, who\ngenerally observed that it sparkled longest in the thickets, identified\nit with Daphne and Procris, whose names are derived from the Sanskrit\nword \u201cto sprinkle,\u201d and who are slain by their lovers, Apollo and\nCephalus, personifications of the sun.\n\nThe earth was considered in the North as well as in the South as\na female divinity, the fostering mother of all things; and it was\nowing to climatic difference only that the mythology of the North,\nwhere people were daily obliged to conquer the right to live by a\nhand-to-hand struggle with Nature, should represent her as hard and\nfrozen like Rinda, while the Greeks embodied her in the genial goddess\nCeres. The Greeks also believed that the cold winter winds swept down\nfrom the North, and the Northern races added that they were produced by\nthe winnowing of the wings of the great eagle Hr\u00e6-svelgr.\n\nThe dwarfs, or dark elves, bred in Ymir\u2019s flesh, were like Pluto\u2019s\nservants in that they never left their underground realm, where they,\ntoo, sought the precious metals, which they molded into delicate\nornaments such as Vulcan bestowed upon the gods, and into weapons\nwhich no one could either dint or mar. As for the light elves, who\nlived aboveground and cared for plants, trees, and streams, they were\nevidently the Northern substitutes for the nymphs, dryads, oreades, and\nhamadryads, which peopled the woods, valleys, and fountains of ancient\nGreece.\n\n[Sidenote: Jupiter and Odin.]\n\nJupiter, like Odin, was the father of the gods, the god of victory,\nand a personification of the universe. Hlidskialf, Allfather\u2019s lofty\nthrone, was no less exalted than Olympus or Ida, whence the Thunderer\ncould observe all that was taking place; and Odin\u2019s invincible spear\nGungnir was as terror-inspiring as the thunderbolts brandished by his\nGreek prototype. The Northern deities feasted continually upon mead and\nboar\u2019s flesh, the drink and meat most suitable to the inhabitants of a\nNorthern climate, while the gods of Olympus preferred the nectar and\nambrosia which were their only sustenance.\n\nTwelve \u00c6sir sat in Odin\u2019s council hall to deliberate over the wisest\nmeasures for the government of the world and men, and an equal number\nof gods assembled on the cloudy peak of Mount Olympus for a similar\npurpose. The Golden Age in Greece was a period of idyllic happiness,\namid ever-flowering groves and under balmy skies, while the Northern\nage of bliss was also a time when peace and innocence flourished on\nearth, and when evil was as yet entirely unknown.\n\n[Sidenote: Creation of man.]\n\nUsing the materials near at hand, the Greeks modeled their first images\nout of clay; hence they naturally imagined that Prometheus had made man\nout of that substance when called upon to fashion a creature inferior\nto the gods only. As the Northern statues were all hewed out of wood,\nthe Northern races inferred, as a matter of course, that Odin, Vili,\nand Ve (who here correspond to Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Minerva,\nthe three Greek creators of man) made the first human couple, Ask and\nEmbla, out of blocks of wood.\n\nThe goat Heidrun, which supplied the heavenly mead, is like Amalthea,\nJupiter\u2019s first nurse, and the busy, telltale Ratatosk is equivalent to\nthe snow-white crow in the story of Coronis, which was turned black in\npunishment for its tattling. Jupiter\u2019s eagle has its counterpart in the\nravens Hugin and Munin, or in the wolves Geri and Freki, which are ever\ncrouching at Odin\u2019s feet.\n\n[Sidenote: Norns and Fates.]\n\nThe close resemblance between the Northern Orlog and the Greek Destiny,\ngoddesses whose decrees the gods themselves and were obliged to\nrespect, and the equally powerful Norns and M\u0153r\u00e6, is too obvious to\nneed pointing out, while the Vanas are counterparts of Neptune and\nthe other ocean divinities. The great quarrel between the Vanas and\nthe \u00c6sir is merely another version of the dispute between Jupiter and\nNeptune for the supremacy of the world. Just as Jupiter forces his\nbrother to yield to his authority, so the \u00c6sir remain masters of all,\nbut do not refuse to continue to share their power with their conquered\nfoes, who thus become their allies and friends.\n\nLike Jupiter, Odin is always described as majestic and middle-aged,\nand both gods are regarded as the divine progenitors of royal races,\nfor while the Heraclid\u00e6 claimed Jupiter as their father, the Inglings,\nSkioldings, etc., said Odin was the founder of their families. The\nmost solemn oaths were sworn by Odin\u2019s spear as well as by Jupiter\u2019s\nfootstool, and both gods rejoice in a multitude of names, all\ndescriptive of the various phases of their nature and worship.\n\nOdin, like Jupiter, frequently visited the earth in disguise, to judge\nof the hospitable intentions of mankind, as in the story of Geirrod\nand Agnar, which resembles that of Philemon and Baucis. The aim was to\nencourage hospitality, therefore, in both stories, those who showed\nthemselves humanely inclined are richly rewarded, and in the Northern\nmyth the lesson is enforced by the punishment inflicted upon Geirrod,\nas the scalds believed in poetic justice and saw that it was carefully\nmeted out.\n\nThe contest of wit between Odin and Vafthrudnir has its parallel in the\nmusical rivalry of Apollo and Marsyas, or in the test of skill between\nMinerva and Arachne. Odin further resembled Apollo in that he, too, was\ngod of eloquence and poetry, and could win all hearts to him by means\nof his divine voice; he was like Mercury in that he taught mortals the\nuse of runes, while the Greek god introduced the alphabet.\n\n[Sidenote: Myths of the seasons.]\n\nThe disappearance of Odin, the sun or summer, and the consequent\ndesolation of Frigga, the earth, is merely a different version of the\nmyths of Proserpine and Adonis.\n\nWhen Proserpine and Adonis have gone, the earth (Ceres or Venus)\nbitterly mourns their absence, and refuses all consolation. It is only\nwhen they return from their exile that she casts off her mourning\ngarments and gloom, and again decks herself in all her jewels. So\nFrigga and Freya bewail the absence of their husbands Odin and Odur,\nand remain hard and cold until their return. Odin\u2019s wife Saga, the\ngoddess of history, who lingered by Sokvabek, \u201cthe stream of time and\nevents,\u201d taking note of all she saw, is like Clio, the muse of history,\nwhom Apollo sought by the inspiring fount of Helicon.\n\nJust as, according to Euhemerus, there was an historical Zeus, buried\nin Crete, where his grave can still be seen, so there was an historical\nOdin, whose mound rises near Upsala, where the greatest Northern temple\nonce stood, and where there was a mighty oak which rivaled the famous\ntree of Dodona.\n\n[Sidenote: Frigga and Juno.]\n\nFrigga, like Juno, was a personification of the atmosphere, the\npatroness of marriage, of connubial and motherly love, and the goddess\nof childbirth. She, too, is represented as a beautiful, stately woman,\nrejoicing in her adornments; and her special attendant, Gna, rivals\nIris in the rapidity with which she executes her mistress\u2019s behests.\nJuno has full control over the clouds, which she can brush away with\na motion of her hand, and Frigga is supposed to weave them out of the\nthread she has spun on her jeweled spinning wheel.\n\nIn Greek mythology we find many examples of the way in which Juno seeks\nto outwit Jupiter. Similar tales are not lacking in the Northern myths.\nJuno obtains possession of Io, in spite of her husband\u2019s reluctance to\npart with her, and Frigga artfully secures the victory for the Winilers\nin the Langobardian Saga. Odin\u2019s wrath at Frigga\u2019s theft of the gold\nfrom his statue is equivalent to Jupiter\u2019s marital displeasure at\nJuno\u2019s jealousy and interference during the war of Troy. In the story\nof Gefjon, and the clever way in which she procured land from Gylfi to\nform her kingdom of Seeland, we have a reproduction of the story of\nDido, who obtained by stratagem the land upon which she founded her\ncity of Carthage. In both accounts oxen come into play, for while in\nthe Northern myth these sturdy beasts draw the piece of land far out to\nsea, in the other an ox hide, cut into strips, serves to inclose the\nqueen\u2019s grant.\n\n[Sidenote: Musical myths.]\n\nThe Pied Piper of Hamelin, who could attract all living creatures\nby his music, is like Orpheus or Amphion, whose lyres had the same\npower; and Odin, as leader of the dead, is the counterpart of Mercury\nPsychopompus, both being personifications of the wind, on whose wings\ndisembodied souls were thought to be wafted away from this mortal\nsphere.\n\nThe trusty Eckhardt, who would fain save Tannh\u00e4user and prevent his\nreturning to expose himself to the enchantments of the sorceress in\nthe H\u00f6rselberg, is like the Greek Mentor, who not only accompanied\nTelemachus, but who gave him good advice and wise instructions, and\nwould like to have rescued Ulysses from the hands of Calypso.\n\n[Sidenote: Thor and the Greek gods.]\n\nThor, the Northern thunder-god, also has many points of resemblance\nwith Jupiter. He bears the hammer Mi\u00f6lnir, the Northern emblem of the\ndeadly thunderbolt, and, like Jupiter, uses it freely when warring\nagainst the giants. In his rapid growth Thor resembles Mercury, for\nwhile the former playfully tosses several loads of ox hides about a\nfew hours after his birth, the latter steals Apollo\u2019s oxen before he\nis one day old. In physical strength Thor resembles Hercules, who also\ngave early proofs of uncommon vigor by strangling the serpents sent\nto slay him in his cradle, and who delighted, later on, in attacking\nand conquering giants and monsters. Hercules became a woman and took\nto spinning to please Omphale, the Lydian queen, and Thor assumed a\nwoman\u2019s apparel to visit Thrym and recover his hammer, which had been\nburied nine rasts underground. The hammer, his principal attribute,\nwas used for many sacred purposes. It consecrated the funeral pyre\nand the marriage rite, and boundary stakes driven in by a hammer were\nconsidered as sacred among Northern nations as the Herm\u00e6 or statues of\nMercury, whose removal was punished by death.\n\nThor\u2019s wife, Sif, with her luxuriant golden hair, is, as we have\nalready stated, an emblem of the earth, and her hair of its rich\nvegetation. Loki\u2019s theft of these tresses is equivalent to Pluto\u2019s rape\nof Proserpine. To recover the golden locks, Loki must visit the dwarfs\n(Pluto\u2019s servants), crouching in the low passages of the underground\nworld; so Mercury must seek Proserpine in Hades.\n\nThe gadfly which hinders Jupiter from recovering possession of Io,\nafter Mercury has slain Argus, reappears in the Northern myth to sting\nBrock and prevent the manufacture of the magic ring Draupnir, which is\nmerely a counterpart of Sif\u2019s tresses, as it also represents the fruits\nof the earth. It continues to torment the dwarf during the manufacture\nof Frey\u2019s golden-bristled boar, a prototype of Apollo\u2019s golden sun\nchariot, and it prevents the perfect formation of the handle of Thor\u2019s\nhammer.\n\nThe magic ship Skidbladnir, also made by the dwarfs, is like the\nswift-sailing Argo, which was a personification of the clouds sailing\noverhead; and just as the former was said to be large enough to\naccommodate all the gods, so the latter bore all the Greek heroes off\nto the distant land of Colchis.\n\nThe Germans, wishing to name the days of the week after their gods, as\nthe Romans had done, gave the name of Thor to Jove\u2019s day, and thus made\nit the present Thursday.\n\nThor\u2019s struggle against Hrungnir is like the fight between Hercules and\nCacus or Ant\u00e6us; while Groa is evidently Ceres, for she, too, mourns\nfor her absent child Orvandil (Proserpine), and breaks out into a song\nof joy when she hears it will return.\n\nMagni, Thor\u2019s son, who when only three hours old exhibits his marvelous\nstrength by lifting Hrungnir\u2019s leg off his recumbent father, also\nreminds us of the infant Hercules; and Thor\u2019s voracious appetite at\nThrym\u2019s wedding feast has its parallel in Mercury\u2019s first meal, which\nconsisted of two whole oxen.\n\nThor\u2019s crossing the swollen tide of Veimer reminds us of Jason\u2019s wading\nacross the torrent when on his way to visit the tyrant Pelias and\nrecover possession of his father\u2019s throne.\n\nThe marvelous necklace worn by Frigga and Freya to enhance their\ncharms is like the cestus or girdle of Venus, which Juno borrowed to\nsubjugate her lord, and is, like Sif\u2019s tresses and the ring Draupnir,\nan emblem of luxuriant vegetation or a type of the stars which jewel\nthe firmament.\n\nThe Northern sword-god Tyr is, of course, the Roman war-god Mars, whom\nhe so closely resembles that his name was given to the day of the week\nheld sacred to Mars, which is even now known as Tuesday or Tiu\u2019s day.\nLike Mars, Tyr was noisy and courageous; he delighted in the din of\nbattle and warfare, and was quite fearless at all times. He alone\ndared to brave the Fenris wolf; and the Southern proverb concerning\nScylla and Charybdis has its counterpart in the Northern adage, \u201cto get\nloose out of L\u00e6ding and to dash out of Droma.\u201d The Fenris wolf, also a\npersonification of subterranean fire, is bound, like his prototypes the\nTitans, in Tartarus.\n\nThe similarity between the gentle, music-loving Bragi, with his harp\nin hand, and Apollo or Orpheus is very great; so is the resemblance\nbetween the magic draft Od-hroerir and the waters of Helicon, which\nwere also supposed to serve as inspiration to mortal as well as to\nimmortal poets. Odin dons eagle plumes to bear away this precious mead,\nand Jupiter assumes a similar guise to secure his cupbearer Ganymede.\n\nIdun, like Adonis and Proserpine, or still more like Eurydice, is also\na fair personification of spring. She is borne away by the cruel ice\ngiant Thiassi, who represents the boar which slew Adonis, the kidnapper\nof Proserpine, or the poisonous serpent which bit Eurydice. Idun is\ndetained for a long, long time in J\u00f6tun-heim (Hades), where she forgets\nall her merry, playful ways, and becomes mournful and pale. She cannot\nreturn alone to Asgard, and it is only when Loki (now an emblem of the\nsouth wind) comes to bear her away in the shape of a nut or a swallow\nthat she can effect her escape. She reminds us of Proserpine and Adonis\nescorted back to earth by Mercury (god of the wind), or of Eurydice\nlured out of Hades by the sweet sounds of Orpheus\u2019s harp, which were\nalso symbolical of the soughing of the winds.\n\n[Sidenote: Idun and Eurydice.]\n\nThe myth of Idun\u2019s fall from Yggdrasil into the darkest depths of\nNifl-heim, while subject to the same explanation and comparison as\nthe above story, is still more closely related to the tale of Orpheus\nand Eurydice, for the former, like Bragi, cannot exist without the\nlatter, whom he follows even into the dark realm of death; without\nher his songs are entirely silenced. The wolfskin in which Idun is\nenveloped is typical of the heavy snows in Northern regions, which are\nconsidered a great blessing, as they preserve the tender roots from the\nblighting influence of the extreme winter cold.\n\n[Sidenote: Skadi and Diana.]\n\nThe Van Ni\u00f6rd, who is god of the sunny summer seas, has his counterpart\nin Neptune and more especially in Nereus, the personification of the\ncalm and pleasant aspect of the mighty deep. Ni\u00f6rd\u2019s wife, Skadi,\nis the Northern huntress; she therefore resembles Diana. Like her,\nshe bears a quiver full of arrows, and a bow which she handles with\nconsummate skill. Her short gown permits the utmost freedom of motion,\nalso, and she, too, is generally accompanied by a hunting hound.\n\nThe myths of the transference of Thiassi\u2019s eyes to the firmament, where\nthey glow like brilliant stars, remind us of many Greek star myths, and\nespecially of Argus\u2019s eyes ever on the watch, of Orion and his jeweled\ngirdle, and of his dog Sirius, all changed into stars by the gods to\nappease angry goddesses. Loki\u2019s antics to win a smile from the irate\nSkadi are considered akin to the quivering flashes of sheet lightning\nwhich he personified in the North, while Steropes, the Cyclops,\ntypified it for the Greeks.\n\nThe Northern god of sunshine and summer showers, the genial Frey, has\nmany traits in common with Apollo, for, like him, he is beautiful and\nyoung, rides the golden-bristled boar which was the Northern conception\nof the sunbeams, or drives across the sky in a golden car, which\nreminds us of Apollo\u2019s glittering chariot.\n\nFrey has some of the gentle Zephyrus\u2019s characteristics besides, for\nhe, too, scatters flowers along his way. His horse Blodug-hofi is not\nunlike Pegasus, Apollo\u2019s favorite steed, for it can pass through fire\nand water with equal ease and velocity.\n\nFro, like Odin and Jupiter, is also identified with a human king, and\nhis mound lies beside Odin\u2019s near Upsala. His reign was so happy that\nit was called the Golden Age, and he therefore reminds us of Saturn,\nwho, exiled to earth, ruled over the people of Italy, and granted them\nsimilar prosperity.\n\nGerda, the beautiful maiden, is like Venus, and also like Atalanta;\nshe is hard to woo and hard to win, like the fleet-footed maiden, but,\nlike her, she yields at last and becomes a happy wife. The golden\napples with which Skirnir tries to bribe her remind us of the golden\nfruit which Hippomenes cast in Atalanta\u2019s way, and which made her lose\nthe race.\n\nFreya, the goddess of youth, love, and beauty, like Venus, sprang\nfrom the sea, for she is a daughter of the sea-god Ni\u00f6rd. Venus shows\nthat she is not entirely devoid of martial tastes by bestowing her\nbest affections upon Mars and Anchises, while Freya often assumes the\ngarb of a Valkyr, and rides rapidly down to earth to take her part in\nmortal strife and bear away one half of the heroes slain to feast in\nher halls. Like Venus, she delights in offerings of fruits and flowers,\nlends a gracious ear to the petitions of lovers, and favors them as\nmuch as she can. Freya also resembles Minerva, for, like her, she wears\na helmet and breastplate, and, like her, also, she is noted for her\nbeautiful blue eyes.\n\n[Sidenote: Odur and Adonis.]\n\nOdur, Freya\u2019s husband, is like Adonis, and when he leaves her, she,\ntoo, sheds countless tears, which, in her case, are turned to gold,\nwhile Venus\u2019s tears are changed into anemones, and those of the\nHeliades, mourning for Phaeton, harden to amber, which resembles\ngold in color and in consistency. Just as Venus rejoices at Adonis\u2019s\nreturn, and all Nature blooms in sympathy with her joy, so Freya\nbecomes lighthearted once more when she has found her husband lover\nbeneath the flowering myrtles of the South. Venus\u2019s car is drawn by\nfluttering doves, while Freya\u2019s is swiftly carried along by cats, which\nare emblems of sensual love, just as the doves were considered types\nof tenderest love. Freya is so sensitive to beauty that she angrily\nrefuses to marry Thrym, and Venus scorns and finally deserts Vulcan,\nwhom she has been forced to marry much against her will.\n\nThe Greeks represented Justice as a blindfolded goddess, with scales\nin one hand and a sword in the other, to indicate the impartiality and\nthe fixity of her decrees. The corresponding deity of the North was\nForseti, who patiently listened to both sides of a question ere he,\ntoo, promulgated his impartial and irrevocable sentence.\n\nUller, the winter-god, resembles Apollo and Orion only in his love for\nthe chase, which he pursues with ardor under all circumstances. He is\nthe Northern bowman, and his skill is quite as unerring as theirs.\n\nHeimdall, like Argus, was gifted with marvelous keenness of sight,\nwhich enabled him to perceive even the growth of the grass. His\nGiallar-horn, which could be heard throughout all the world,\nproclaiming the gods\u2019 passage to and fro over the quivering bridge\nBifr\u00f6st, was like the trumpet of the goddess Renown. As he was related\nto the water deities on his mother\u2019s side, he could, like Proteus,\nassume any form at will, and made good use of this power on one\noccasion to frustrate Loki\u2019s attempt to steal the necklace Brisinga-men.\n\nHermod, the quick or nimble, resembles Mercury not only in his\nmarvelous celerity of motion, but he, too, was the messenger of the\ngods, and, like the Greek divinity, he flashed hither and thither,\naided not by winged cap and sandals, but by Odin\u2019s steed Sleipnir,\nwhom he alone was allowed to bestride. Instead of the Caduceus, he\nbore the wand Gambantein. He questioned the Norns and the magician\nRossthiof, through whom he learned that Vali would come to avenge his\nbrother Balder and to supplant his father Odin. Instances of similar\nconsultations are found in Greek mythology, where Jupiter would fain\nhave married Thetis, yet desisted when the Fates foretold that she\nwould be the mother of a son destined to surpass his father in glory\nand renown.\n\nThe Northern god of silence, Vidar, has some resemblance to Hercules,\nfor while the latter has nothing but a club with which to defend\nhimself against the Nemean lion, whom he tears asunder, the former,\nprotected by one large shoe, rends the Fenris wolf at Ragnarok.\n\n[Sidenote: Rinda and Danae.]\n\nOdin\u2019s courtship of Rinda reminds us of Jupiter\u2019s wooing of Danae,\nwho is also a symbol of the earth; and while the shower of gold in\nthe Greek tale is intended to represent the fertilizing sunbeams, the\nfootbath in the Northern story typifies the spring thaw which sets in\nwhen the sun has overcome the resistance of the frozen earth. Perseus,\nthe child of this union, has many points of resemblance with Vali, for\nhe, too, is an avenger, and slays his mother\u2019s enemies just as surely\nas Vali destroys Hodur, the murderer of Balder.\n\nThe Fates were supposed to preside over birth in Greece, and to\nforetell a child\u2019s future just as well as the Norns; and the story of\nMeleager has its unmistakable parallel in that of Nornagesta. Alth\u00e6a\npreserves the half-consumed brand in a chest, Nornagesta conceals the\ncandle end in his harp; and while the Greek mother brings about her\nson\u2019s death by casting the brand into the fire, Nornagesta, compelled\nto light his candle end at Olaf\u2019s command, dies as it sputters and goes\nout.\n\nHebe and the Valkyrs were the cupbearers of Olympus and Asgard. They\nwere all personifications of youth; and while Hebe married the great\nhero and demigod Hercules when she retired from office, the Valkyrs\nwere relieved from further attendance when united to heroes like Helgi,\nHakon, V\u00f6lund, or Sigurd.\n\nThe Cretan labyrinth has its counterpart in the Icelandic V\u00f6lundarhaus,\nand V\u00f6lund and D\u00e6dalus both effect their escape from a maze by a\ncleverly devised pair of wings, which enables them to fly in safety\nover land and sea and escape from the tyranny of their respective\nmasters, Nidud and Minos. V\u00f6lund resembles Vulcan, also, in that he is\na clever smith and makes use of his talents to work out his revenge.\nVulcan, lamed by a fall from Olympus, and neglected by Juno, whom he\nhad tried to befriend, sends her a golden throne, which is provided\nwith cunning springs to seize and hold her fast. V\u00f6lund, hamstrung by\nthe suggestion of Nidud\u2019s queen, secretly murders her sons, and out of\ntheir eyes fashions marvelous jewels, which she unsuspectingly wears\nupon her breast until he reveals their origin.\n\n[Sidenote: Myths of the sea.]\n\nJust as the Greeks fancied that the tempests were the effect of\nNeptune\u2019s wrath, so the Northern races attributed them either to the\nwrithings of I\u00f6rmungandr, the Midgard snake, or to the anger of \u00c6gir,\nwho, crowned with seaweed like Neptune, often sent his children,\nthe wave maidens (the counterpart of the Nereides and Oceanides),\nout to play in the tossing billows. Neptune had his dwelling in the\ncoral caves near the Island of Eub\u0153a, while \u00c6gir lived in a similar\npalace near Cattegat. Here he was surrounded by the nixies, undines,\nand mermaids, the counterpart of the Greek water nymphs, and by the\nriver-gods of the Rhine, Elbe, and Neckar, who remind us of Alpheus and\nPeneus, the river-gods of the Greeks.\n\nThe frequency of shipwrecks on the Northern coasts made the people\ndescribe Ran (the equivalent of the Greek sea-goddess Amphitrite) as\ngreedy and avaricious, and armed with a strong net, with which she drew\nall things down into the deep. The Greek Sirens had their parallel in\nthe Northern Lorelei, who possessed the same gift of song, and also\nlured mariners to their death; while Princess Ilse, who was turned into\na fountain, reminds us of the nymph Arethusa, who underwent a similar\ntransformation.\n\nIn the Northern conception of Nifl-heim we have an almost exact\ncounterpart of the Greek Hades. M\u00f6dgud, the guardian of the Giallar-bru\n(the bridge of death), over which all the spirits of the dead must\npass, exacts a tribute of blood as rigorously as Charon demands an\nobolus from every soul he ferries over Acheron, the river of death. The\nfierce dog Garm, cowering in the Gnipa hole, and keeping guard at Hel\u2019s\ngate, is like the three-headed monster Cerberus; and the nine worlds\nof Nifl-heim are not unlike the divisions of Hades, Nastrond being an\nadequate substitute for Tartarus, where the wicked were punished with\nequal severity.\n\nThe custom of burning dead heroes with their arms, and of slaying\nvictims, such as horses and dogs, upon their pyre, was much the same in\nthe North as in the South; and while Mors or Thanatos, the Greek Death,\nwas represented with a sharp scythe, Hel was depicted with a broom\nor rake, which she used as ruthlessly, and with which she did as much\nexecution.\n\n[Sidenote: Balder and Apollo.]\n\nBalder, the radiant god of sunshine, reminds us not only of Apollo and\nOrpheus, but of all the other heroes of sun myths. His wife Nanna is\nlike Flora, and still more like Proserpine, for she, too, goes down\ninto the underworld, where she tarries for a while. Balder\u2019s golden\nhall of Breidablik is like Apollo\u2019s palace in the east; he, too,\ndelights in flowers; all things smile at his approach, and willingly\ntake an oath of allegiance to him. Just as Achilles is vulnerable only\nin the heel, Balder can be slain only by the harmless mistletoe, and\nhis death is occasioned by Loki\u2019s jealousy just as truly as Hercules\nwas slain by Dejanira\u2019s. Balder\u2019s funeral pyre on Ringhorn reminds\nus of Hercules\u2019s death on Mount \u0152ta, the flames and reddish glow of\nboth fires serving to typify the setting sun. The Northern god of sun\nand summer could only be released from Nifl-heim if all animate and\ninanimate objects shed tears; so Proserpine could issue from Hades only\nupon condition that she had partaken of no food. The trifling refusal\nof Thok to shed a single tear is like the pomegranate seeds which\nProserpine ate, and the result is equally disastrous in both cases, as\nit detains Balder and Proserpine underground, and the earth (Frigga or\nCeres) must continue to mourn their absence.\n\nThrough Loki evil entered into the Northern world; Prometheus\u2019s gift\nof fire brought the same curse down upon the Greeks. The punishment\ninflicted by the gods upon both culprits is not unlike, for while\nLoki is bound with adamantine chains underground, and tortured by\nthe continuous dropping of venom from the fangs of a snake fastened\nabove his head, Prometheus is bound to Caucasus by adamantine fetters\nalso, and a ravenous vulture continually preys upon his liver. Loki\u2019s\npunishment has another counterpart in that of Tityus, bound in Hades,\nand in that of Enceladus, chained beneath Mount \u00c6tna, where his\nwrithing produced earthquakes, and his imprecations were the sudden\neruptions of the volcano. Loki further resembles Neptune in that he,\ntoo, assumed an equine form and was the parent of a wonderful steed,\nfor Sleipnir rivals Arion both in speed and endurance.\n\nThe Fimbulwinter has been compared to the long preliminary fight under\nthe walls of Troy, and Ragnarok, the grand closing drama of Northern\nmythology, to the burning of that famous city. \u201cThor is Hector; the\nFenris wolf, Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, who slew Priam (Odin); and\nVidar, who survives in Ragnarok, is \u00c6neas.\u201d The destruction of Priam\u2019s\npalace is the type of the ruin of the gods\u2019 golden halls; and the\ndevouring wolves Hati, Sk\u00f6ll, and Managarm, the fiends of darkness, are\nprototypes of Paris and all the other demons of darkness, who bear away\nor devour the sun maiden Helen.\n\n[Sidenote: Ragnarok and the Deluge.]\n\nAccording to another interpretation, however, Ragnarok and the\nconsequent submersion of the world is only a Northern version of the\nDeluge. The survivors, Lif and Lifthrasir, are like Deucalion and\nPyrrha, who were destined to repeople the world; and just as the shrine\nof Delphi alone resisted the destructive power of the great cataclysm,\nso Gimli stood radiant to receive the surviving gods.\n\nWe have already seen how closely the Northern giants resembled the\nTitans; now it only remains to mention that while the Greeks imagined\nthat Atlas was changed into a mountain, so the giants in Germany formed\nthe Riesengebirge, and that the avalanches were the burdens of snow\nwhich they impatiently shook off in changing their cramped positions.\nThe apparition of one of the water giants, in the shape of a bull, in\norder to court the queen of the Francs, has its parallel in the story\nof Jupiter\u2019s wooing of Europa, and Meroveus is evidently the exact\ncounterpart of Sarpedon. A faint resemblance can be traced between the\ngiant ship Mannigfual and the Argo, for while the one is supposed to\nhave cruised all round the \u00c6gean and Euxine Seas, and to have made many\nplaces memorable by the dangers it encountered there, so the Northern\nvessel sailed about the North and Baltic Seas, and is mentioned in\nconnection with the Island of Bornholm and the cliffs of Dover.\n\nWhile the Greeks imagined that the Nightmares were the evil dreams\nwhich escaped from the cave of Somnus, the Northern race fancied they\nwere female dwarfs or trolls, who crept out of the dark recesses of the\nearth to torment them. All magic weapons in the North were the work\nof the dwarfs, the underground smiths, while those of the Greeks were\nmanufactured by Vulcan and the Cyclops, under Mount \u00c6tna, or on the\nIsland of Lemnos.\n\nIn the Sigurd myth we find Odin one-eyed like the Cyclops, who are also\npersonifications of the sun. Sigurd is instructed by Gripir, the horse\ntrainer, who, like Chiron, the centaur, is not only able to teach a\nyoung hero all he need know, and to give him good advice concerning his\nfuture conduct, but is also possessor of the gift of prophecy.\n\nThe marvelous sword which becomes the property of Sigmund and of\nSigurd as soon as they prove themselves worthy to wield it reminds\nus of the weapon which \u00c6geus concealed beneath the rock, and which\nTheseus secured as soon as he had become a man. Sigurd, like Theseus,\nPerseus, and Jason, seeks to avenge his father\u2019s wrongs ere he sets\nout in search of the golden hoard, the exact counterpart of the golden\nfleece, which is also guarded by a dragon, and is very hard to secure.\nLike all the Greek sun-gods and heroes, Sigurd has golden hair and\nbright blue eyes. His struggle with Fafnir reminds us of Apollo\u2019s fight\nwith Python, while the ring Andvaranaut can be likened to Venus\u2019s\ncestus, and the curse attached to its possessor is like the doom which\naccompanied Helen and caused endless bloodshed wherever she went.\n\nSigurd could never have conquered Fafnir without the magic sword,\njust as the Greeks could never have taken Troy without the arrows of\nPhiloctetes, which are also emblems of the all-conquering rays of the\nsun. The recovery of the stolen treasure is like Menelaus\u2019s recovery of\nHelen, and it apparently brings as little happiness to Sigurd as his\nrecreant wife did to the Spartan king.\n\nBrunhild resembles Minerva in martial tastes, in physical appearance,\nand in knowledge; but when Sigurd deserts her in favor of Gudrun, she\nbecomes angry and resentful like \u0152none, when Paris left her to woo\nHelen. Brunhild\u2019s anger continues to accompany Sigurd through life, and\nshe even seeks to compass his death, while \u0152none, feeling she can cure\nher wounded lover, refuses to do so and permits him to die. \u0152none and\nBrunhild are both overcome by the same remorseful feelings when their\nlovers have breathed their last, and both insist upon sharing their\nfuneral pyres, and end their lives lying by the side of those whom they\nhad loved.\n\nContaining, as it does, a whole series of sun myths, the Volsunga\nSaga repeats itself in every phase; and just as Ariadne, forsaken\nby the sun hero Theseus, finally marries Bacchus, so Gudrun, when\nSigurd has departed, marries Atli, the King of the Huns. He, too, ends\nhis life amid the flickering flames of his burning palace or ship.\nGunnar, like Orpheus or Amphion, plays such marvelous strains upon his\nharp that even the serpents are lulled to sleep. According to some\ninterpretations, Atli is like Fafnir, and covets the possession of\nthe gold. Both are therefore probably personifications \u201cof the winter\ncloud which broods over and keeps from mortals the gold of the sun\u2019s\nlight and heat, till in the spring the bright orb overcomes the powers\nof darkness and tempests, and scatters his gold over the face of the\nearth.\u201d\n\nSwanhild, Sigurd\u2019s daughter, is another personification of the sun,\nas is shown by her blue eyes and golden hair; and her death under the\nhoofs of black steeds represents the blotting out of the sun by the\nclouds of storm or of darkness.\n\nJust as Castor and Pollux hasten off to rescue their sister Helen\nwhen she has been borne away by Theseus, so Swanhild\u2019s brothers, Erp,\nHamdir, and S\u00f6rli, hasten off to avenge her death.\n\nSuch are the main points of resemblance between the mythologies of\nthe North and South, and the analogy serves to prove that they were\noriginally formed from the same materials, and that the difference\nconsists principally in the local coloring unconsciously given by each\nnation.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX TO POETICAL QUOTATIONS.\n\n\n Aager and Else, Ballad of, 170.\n\n Anderson, Rasmus B. (translations from the Elder Edda in Norse\n Mythology, S.\u00a0C. Griggs & Co., Chicago), 13, 24, 27, 43, 53,\n 78, 80, 81, 88, 110, 111, 118, 124, 139, 147, 149, 264, 266,\n 270.\n\n Anster (translation from Goethe), 130.\n\n Arnold, Matthew, 12, 14, 15, 21, 23, 28, 29, 46, 47, 64, 68, 84, 107,\n 126, 144, 160, 167, 183, 188, 189, 192, 193, 194, 196, 267, 271.\n\n\n Baldwin, James, Story of Siegfried (Charles Scribner\u2019s Sons, New\n York), 172.\n\n Brace (translation of ballad), 212.\n\n Brand, 120.\n\n Browning, Robert, 33, 34.\n\n\n Coneybeare (translation from the Anglo-Saxon), 165.\n\n\n Du Chaillu, Paul, Viking Age (Charles Scribner\u2019s Sons, New York),\n 142, 143.\n\n\n Edda (S\u00e6mund\u2019s, or the Elder), 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 24,\n 25, 27, 29, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 62, 65, 71, 75, 80, 81,\n 85, 88, 91, 96, 97, 98, 102, 104, 105, 107, 108, 110, 111, 112,\n 113, 114, 115, 116, 118, 122, 123, 124, 129, 131, 134, 137,\n 138, 139, 141, 142, 143, 144, 146, 147, 149, 151, 154, 157,\n 162, 163, 164, 168, 174, 175, 177, 183, 184, 185, 195, 198,\n 200, 204, 205, 206, 207, 236, 242, 244, 246, 254, 262, 266,\n 267, 269, 270, 271, 272.\n\n Edda, The Younger, 53, 77, 78, 79.\n\n\n Forman (translations), 37, 40, 57, 100.\n\n\n Goethe, 130.\n\n Gray, 184, 185, 186.\n\n Grotta-Savngr, 122, 123.\n\n\n Heine, 180, 216.\n\n Hemans, 30, 161.\n\n Henderson (translations), 11, 154, 162.\n\n Herbert (translations), 77, 79, 114, 115, 116, 138.\n\n Herrick, 121.\n\n Hewitt (translation), 162.\n\n Homer, 36.\n\n Howitt, 36, 65, 195, 222, 272, 273.\n\n\n Jones, Julia Clinton, Valhalla (Bosqui & Co., San Francisco), 11, 16,\n 53, 62, 86, 89, 90, 91, 101, 102, 103, 152, 156, 166, 167, 168,\n 171, 178, 182, 195, 203, 205, 208, 264, 266, 267.\n\n\n Keightley (translation), 179.\n\n Kingsley, Charles, 50, 127.\n\n\n L. E. R., 178.\n\n La Motte-Fouqu\u00e9, 218.\n\n Longfellow, Saga of King Olaf, in Tales of a Wayside Inn (Houghton,\n Mifflin & Co., Boston), 45, 63, 82.\n\n\n Macdowall, Asgard and the Gods, 51.\n\n Martin (translation from Heine), 216.\n\n Mathisson, 179.\n\n Meredith, Owen, 56, 57, 145.\n\n Morris, William, 19, 24, 61, 113, 128, 156, 178, 226, 227, 228, 229,\n 230, 231, 232, 234, 235, 237, 238, 239, 241, 242, 243, 245,\n 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 252, 255, 256, 258, 259, 260, 261.\n\n\n Naogeorgus, 119.\n\n\n Oehlenschl\u00e4ger, 36, 66, 67, 68, 138, 176.\n\n Oxford Carol, 119.\n\n\n Percy (translation from the Edda), 62.\n\n Pfeiffer (translation), 265.\n\n Pigott (translations from Oehlenschl\u00e4ger), 66, 67, 68, 138, 176.\n\n\n Scott, 32, 221.\n\n Selcher (translation), 180.\n\n Shakespeare, 85, 158, 223.\n\n Southey, 35.\n\n Spenser, 219.\n\n Stagnelius, 179.\n\n Stephens (translations from Fridthiof\u2019s Saga in Viking Tales of the\n North, Rasmus B. Anderson, S.\u00a0C. Griggs & Co., Chicago), 20,\n 28, 44, 52, 72, 73, 98, 106, 113, 128, 135, 173, 195, 197, 265,\n 270.\n\n\n Taylor (translations from the Sagas), 15, 17, 18, 27, 37, 38, 92,\n 269, 271.\n\n Tegn\u00e9r, Fridthiof\u2019s Saga, 20, 28, 44, 52, 72, 73, 98, 106, 113, 128,\n 135, 173, 195, 197, 265, 270.\n\n Thomson, 27, 168.\n\n Thorpe (translations from S\u00e6mund\u2019s Edda), 12, 16, 21, 25, 29, 31, 39,\n 41, 42, 45, 71, 75, 85, 91, 96, 97, 98, 102, 104, 105, 107,\n 108, 112, 113, 116, 129, 131, 134, 137, 138, 139, 141, 144,\n 146, 151, 157, 163, 164, 168, 169, 174, 175, 177, 183, 184,\n 185, 198, 200, 204, 205, 206, 207, 236, 242, 244, 246, 254,\n 269, 270.\n\n\n Vail, 29.\n\n\n Wagner, 37, 40, 57, 100.\n\n W\u00e4gner, Asgard and the Gods, 51.\n\n Wordsworth, 30.\n\n\n\n\nGLOSSARY AND INDEX.\n\n\n AAGER (\u00e4\u00b4ger) and Else. Ballad of, 170.\n\n ABEL. Cain in Wild Hunt because of the murder of, 32.\n\n ABUNDANTIA (a-bun-dan\u00b4shy\u0227). Same as Fulla, 51.\n\n ABUNDIA. Same as Fulla, 51.\n\n ACHERON (ak\u00b4e-ron). Gi\u00f6ll, the Northern, 288.\n\n ACHILLES (a-kil\u00b4\u0113z). Balder, the Northern, 289;\n father of Pyrrhus, 290.\n\n ADONIS (a-d\u014d\u00b4nis). Odin, the Northern, 279;\n Idun lost like, 283;\n Odur, the Northern, 285.\n\n \u00c6GEAN (\u0113-j\u0113\u00b4an). Argo\u2019s cruise round the, 290.\n\n \u00c6GEUS (\u0113-j\u0113\u00b4us). Sigmund\u2019s sword compared to that of, 291.\n\n \u00c6GIR (\u0101\u00b4jir). Tempests caused by, 107;\n god of the sea, 171\u2013181;\n banquet in halls of, 204;\n Neptune, the Greek, 288.\n\n \u00c6GIS (\u0113\u00b4jis). Fafnir\u2019s Helmet of Dread so called, 240.\n\n \u00c6NEAS (\u0113-n\u0113\u00b4as). Vidar, the Northern, 290.\n\n \u00c6SIR (\u0101\u00b4sir). Northern gods called, 13;\n twelve in number, 18;\n Asgard, home of, 21;\n dispute between Vanas and, 21;\n to be supplanted, 38;\n inhabitants of Asia Minor, 43, 93, 107;\n Gylfi visits the, 44;\n Hrungnir feasts with the, 73;\n Freya visited by the, 77;\n recovery of hammer pleases the, 79;\n Fenris bound by the, 91;\n Suttung slain by the, 97;\n Idun welcomed by the, 104;\n Ni\u00f6rd among the, 108;\n \u00c6gir not ranked with the, 171;\n \u00c6gir visits the, 174;\n reward promised to the, 189;\n heralds sent out by the, 194;\n Loki slanders the, 198, 205;\n battle between the giants and the, 210;\n beginning and end of the, 263;\n Giallar-horn summons the, 265;\n giants come to fight the, 266;\n courage and death of the, 267;\n golden disks of the, 271;\n Greek gods compared to the, 277;\n Greek equivalent of dispute between the Vanas and the, 278.\n\n \u00c6TNA (et\u00b4n\u0227), MOUNT. Northern equivalent for earthquakes in, 289;\n dwarfs\u2019 forge equivalent to Vulcan\u2019s in, 291.\n\n AFI (\u00e4\u00b4f\u0113). Riger visits, 142.\n\n AFTERNOON. Division of day, 17.\n\n AGNAR. Son of Hrauding, fostered by Frigga, 39, 40;\n gives Odin a drink, 41;\n becomes king, 42;\n Greek equivalent, 279.\n\n AI (\u00e4\u00b4\u0113). Riger visits, 141.\n\n AKU-THOR (ak\u00b4u-thor). The charioteer, 64.\n\n ALBERICH (al\u00b4b\u0115r-ikh). King of the dwarfs, 218.\n\n ALBION (al\u00b4bi-on). Conjectured origin of name, 221.\n\n ALF-BLOT. Sacrifices offered to elves, 223.\n\n ALF-HEIM (alf\u00b4h\u012bm). Home of elves in, 18, 221;\n Frey, ruler of, 112;\n Frey\u2019s return to, 114;\n Skirnir\u2019s return to, 116;\n V\u00f6lund goes to dwell in, 165.\n\n ALI. Same as Vali, 152.\n\n ALLFATHER. The uncreated is, 10;\n Yggdrasil created by, 19;\n Odin called, 23;\n questions Vafthrudnir, 38;\n wrath of, 48;\n Longbeards named by, 50;\n disposes of Hel, Midgard snake, and Fenris, 89;\n sends Hermod to Finland, 145;\n goes with Vidar, to consult Norns, 148;\n dooms Brunhild to marry, 248;\n is slain, 269.\n\n ALPHEUS (al-f\u0113\u00b4us). Greek equivalent of Northern river-god, 288.\n\n ALPINE ROSE. Attendants of Holda crowned with the, 55.\n\n ALPS. Uller\u2019s home on the, 132;\n supposed meaning of the name, 221.\n\n ALSVIDER (\u00e4l\u00b4svid-er). Steed of moon chariot, 14.\n\n ALSVIN (\u00e4l\u00b4svin). Steed of sun chariot, 14.\n\n ALTHEA (al-th\u0113\u00b4\u0227). Like mother of Nornagesta, 287.\n\n ALVA. Cheru\u2019s sword borne by Duke of, 88.\n\n ALVIS. A dwarf, changed to stone, 64, 65.\n\n ALVIT. A Valkyr, marries mortal, 163.\n\n AMALTHEA (am-al-th\u0113\u00b4\u0227). Compared to Heidrun, 278.\n\n AMBROSIA. Northern gods eat boar\u2019s flesh instead of, 277.\n\n AMERICA. Norsemen real discoverers of, 224.\n\n AMMA. Riger visits, 142.\n\n AMPHION (am-f\u012b\u00b4on). Pied Piper like, 280; Gunnar like, 292.\n\n AMPHITRITE (am-fi-tr\u012b\u00b4t\u0113). Greek equivalent for Ran, 288.\n\n AMSVARTNIR (am-sv\u00e4rt\u00b4nir). Lake where Fenris is bound, 91.\n\n ANCHISES (an-k\u012b\u00b4s\u0113z). Northern equivalent of, 285.\n\n ANDHRIMNIR (\u00e4n-dhrim\u00b4nir). Cook in Valhalla, 27.\n\n ANDVARANAUT (\u00e4nd-v\u00e4\u00b4ra-nout). Ring of Andvari, 243;\n Sigurd appropriates, 246;\n Brunhild betrothed with, 248;\n Sigurd deprives Brunhild of, 252;\n Gudrun shows, 253; Gudrun sends Gunnar, 257;\n Greek equivalent, 291.\n\n ANDVARI (\u00e4nd\u00b4v\u00e4-r\u0113). King of dwarfs, 218;\n Loki visits, 242;\n ring of, 243, 246, 248, 252, 257, 291.\n\n ANGANTYR (\u00e4n-g\u00e4n\u00b4t\u0113r). Ottar and, 128, 129;\n Tyrfing, sword of, 219.\n\n ANGLO-SAXON. Heptarchy, 44;\n Uller called Vulder in, 132;\n \u00c6gir called Eagor in, 173.\n\n ANGUR-BODA (\u00e4n-gur-b\u014d\u00b4d\u0227). Mother of Hel, Fenris, and I\u00f6rmungandr,\n 89, 166;\n mother of Gerda, 114;\n wife of Loki, 200;\n feeds wolves in Ironwood, 265.\n\n ANNAR. Husband of Nott, 15.\n\n ANT\u00c6US (an-t\u0113\u00b4us). Greek equivalent for Hrungnir, 282.\n\n APOLLO (a-pol\u00b4\u014d). Greek equivalent for Sol, 276;\n personification of the sun, 277;\n his contest with Marsyas compared to Odin\u2019s with Vafthrudnir, 279;\n marriage with Clio compared to Odin\u2019s with Saga, 279;\n flocks stolen by Mercury, 281;\n chariot compared to Frey\u2019s boar, 282;\n god of music, like Bragi, 283;\n Frey compared to, 284;\n Uller, a hunter like, 286;\n sun-god, like Balder, 289;\n sun myth, like that of Sigurd, 291.\n\n APPLES. Gna\u2019s, 51, 226;\n Idun\u2019s, 100, 102, 104;\n Skirnir gives Gerda golden, 115;\n emblem of fruitfulness, 117;\n Norns watch over the magic, 154;\n Idun only can pick magic, 155;\n Rerir receives a magic, 226;\n comparison between Atalanta\u2019s and Gerda\u2019s, 285.\n\n ARACHNE (a-rak\u00b4n\u0113). Vafthrudnir, Northern equivalent, 279.\n\n ARCHANGEL ST. MICHAEL. Wields Cheru\u2019s sword, 88.\n\n ARCTIC CIRCLE. Scenery in the, 9.\n\n ARETHUSA (ar-\u0113-th\u016b\u00b4s\u0227). Princess Ilse equivalent to, 288.\n\n ARGO. Like Skidbladnir, 282;\n like Mannigfual, 290.\n\n ARGUS. Story compared to that of Brock, 281;\n eyes compared to Thiassi\u2019s, 284;\n eyes compared to Heimdall\u2019s, 286.\n\n ARIADNE (ar-i-ad\u00b4n\u0113). Compared to Gudrun, 292.\n\n ARION (a-r\u012b\u00b4on). Compared to Sleipnir, 290.\n\n ARTHUR. In Wild Hunt, 31, 32.\n\n ARWAKR (ar\u00b4wak-r). Steed of sun chariot, 14.\n\n ARYANS (\u00e4r\u00b4yanz). Origin of, 9;\n myths of, 275.\n\n ASA (\u0101\u00b4s\u0227). Hoenir an, 22;\n Odin, the almighty, 118;\n Balder an, 182.\n\n ASA-BRIDGE. Heimdall, guardian of the, 143.\n\n ASABRU (\u0101\u00b4s\u0227-br\u016b). Bridge of gods, 20.\n\n ASEGEIR (\u0101\u00b4se-g\u012br). Frisian elders, 135.\n\n ASGARD (as\u00b4g\u00e4rd). Home of gods, 18;\n one root of Yggdrasil in, 19;\n gods\u2019 palaces in, 21;\n Ni\u00f6rd welcomed in, 22;\n Odin\u2019s seat in, 23;\n heroes brought to, 26;\n Ifing separates J\u00f6tun-heim from, 38;\n Odin leaves, 42, 48;\n Odin returns to, 44;\n Gylfi visits, 44;\n Thor admitted into, 61;\n Bilskirnir in, 61;\n Brock visits, 68;\n Hrungnir boasts in, 73;\n unprotected state of, 76;\n Thor\u2019s return to, 79;\n Loki\u2019s return to, 80;\n Tyr, a god of, 84;\n Fenris brought to, 89;\n Odin brings inspiration to, 96;\n Idun and Bragi arrive in, 99;\n Idun to be lured out of, 101;\n Idun mourns for, 102, 103, 283;\n gods return without Idun to, 106;\n Frey, Freya, and Ni\u00f6rd in, 107;\n Ni\u00f6rd summoned to, 108;\n Thiassi slain in, 104, 108;\n Skadi\u2019s honeymoon in, 109;\n Frey welcomed to, 112;\n Freya welcomed to, 124, 131;\n Uller rules in, 131;\n Balder leaves, 133;\n Forseti arrives in, 134;\n Heimdall arrives in, 137;\n Heimdall leaves, 141;\n Hermod returns to, 146;\n Vali comes to, 152;\n sin enters, 154;\n \u00c6gir\u2019s visit to, 174;\n Odin\u2019s return to, 186;\n gods\u2019 sad return to, 192;\n messengers\u2019 return to, 195;\n Loki banished from, 200, 204;\n gods wish to fortify, 202;\n a Hrim-thurs threatens, 203;\n Loki forfeits, 206;\n fire giants storm, 267;\n Olympus, the Greek, 276;\n Valkyrs, cupbearers in, 287.\n\n ASGARDREIA (as-gard-r\u012b\u00b4a). Wild Hunt called, 30.\n\n ASIA. Plateau of Iran in, 9;\n \u00c6sir come from, 43.\n\n ASK (\u00e4sk). Ash tree from which gods made man, 19;\n compared to creation of Prometheus, 278.\n\n ASLAUG (a-sloug\u00b4). The fostering of, 249.\n\n ASYNJUR (a-sin\u00b4jo\u035eor). Northern goddesses called, 18.\n\n ATALANTA (at-\u0227-lan\u00b4t\u0227). Her apples compared to Gerda\u2019s, 285.\n\n ATLA (at\u00b4l\u0227). One of the wave maidens, 137.\n\n ATLANTIC. Cruise of the Mannigfual in the, 214.\n\n ATLAS. Greek equivalent for Riesengebirge, 290.\n\n ATLI (at\u00b4l\u0113). Gudrun wooed by, 257;\n treachery of, 258;\n H\u00f6gni and Gunnar slain by, 259;\n Gudrun slays, 260;\n same as Attila, 262;\n Gudrun\u2019s union with, 292.\n\n ATTILA (at\u00b4i-l\u0227). King of the Huns, has Cheru\u2019s sword, 87;\n same as Atli, 262.\n\n AUD (oud). Son of Nott, 15.\n\n AUDHUMLA (ou-dho\u035dom\u00b4l\u0227). Cow nourishes Ymir, 11.\n\n AUGEIA (ou-g\u012b\u00b4y\u0227). Wave maiden, 137.\n\n AUGSBURG (awgz\u00b4berg). Tyr\u2019s city, 84.\n\n AURGIAFA (our-gy\u00e4\u00b4f\u0227). Wave maiden, 137.\n\n AUSTRI (ou\u00b4str\u0113). Dwarf, supporter of heavenly vault at East, 14.\n\n AUSTRIA. Curious custom in, 121.\n\n\n BACCHUS (bak\u00b4kus). Atli compared to, 292.\n\n BALDER (b\u00e4l\u00b4der). Allfather questions Vafthrudnir about, 38;\n son of Frigga, 43;\n Skadi wishes to marry, 109;\n Uller akin to, 133;\n Forseti, son of, 134;\n Forseti\u2019s connection with, 136;\n Vali, the avenger of, 152;\n god of sun and summer, 182\u2013198;\n Loki, real murderer of, 204;\n absent at \u00c6gir\u2019s banquet, 205;\n compared to Sigurd, 261;\n Loki deprives \u00c6sir of, 263;\n the return of, 271;\n his death avenged, 286;\n Hodur murders, 287;\n compared to Greek sun-gods, 289.\n\n BALMUNG (b\u00e4l\u00b4moong). V\u00f6lund forges, 165;\n Odin drives into Branstock, 227;\n Sigmund secures, 228;\n Siggeir obtains, 229;\n Sinfiotli makes use of, 233, 234;\n Odin breaks, 237;\n Hiordis treasures shards of, 238;\n forged again, 243;\n Fafnir slain by, 245;\n Sigurd cuts off Brunhild\u2019s armor with, 247;\n laid it between Sigurd and Brunhild, 252;\n Guttorm slain by, 255;\n it is put on funeral pyre, 256;\n emblem of sunbeam, 261;\n compared to sword of \u00c6geus, 291.\n\n BALTIC SEA. Cruise of Mannigfual in, 215, 290.\n\n BARBAROSSA (b\u00e4r-b\u0227-ros\u00b4s\u0227), FREDERICK. Leader of Wild Hunt, 31.\n\n BAUCIS (baw\u00b4sis). Story of, compared with Geirrod and Agnar, 279.\n\n BAUGI (bou\u00b4g\u0113). Odin serves, 95.\n\n BEAV. Same as Vali, 152.\n\n BELDEGG (bel\u00b4deg). King of West Saxony, 44.\n\n BELI (bel\u00b4\u0113). Death of, 117;\n son of Kari, 212.\n\n BEHMER (b\u0101\u00b4mer). Forest in Bohemia, 31.\n\n BERGELMIR (ber-gel\u00b4mir). Escapes deluge, 12, 210;\n same as Farbauti, 199.\n\n BERSERKER (b\u0113r\u00b4serk-er). Rage of, 29;\n wolf held by, 190.\n\n BERTHA (b\u0113r\u00b4th\u0227). Same as Frigga, 58;\n mother of Charlemagne, 58;\n patroness of spinning, 59.\n\n BESTLA (best\u00b4l\u0227). Giantess, 12;\n \u00c6sir\u2019s mortal element from, 16.\n\n BETHLEHEM (beth\u00b4l\u00eb-\u0117m). Peace of Frodi when Christ was born in, 122.\n\n BEYGGVIR (b\u012bg\u00b4vir). Servant of Frey, 117.\n\n BEYLA (b\u012b\u00b4l\u0227). Servant of Frey, 117.\n\n BIFR\u00d6ST (b\u012b\u00b4fr\u0113st). Rainbow bridge, 20;\n Valkyrs ride over, 26, 160;\n description of, 137;\n Heimdall, warder of, 138;\n Odin rides over, 184;\n insufficiency of, 202;\n Helgi rides over, 236;\n downfall of, 267;\n Giallar-horn proclaims passage of gods over, 285.\n\n BIL. The waning moon, 16.\n\n BILLING. King of Ruthenes, 150;\n anxious to save Rinda, 152.\n\n BILSKIRNIR (bil\u00b4sk\u0113r-nir). Thor\u2019s palace called, 61;\n thralls entertained in, 62.\n\n BINGEN (bing\u00b4en). Rat Tower near, 35.\n\n BISHOP HATTO. Story of, 35.\n\n BLACK DEATH. Pestilence, 170.\n\n BLACK FOREST. Giants in the, 215.\n\n BLOCKSBERG (bloks\u00b4berg). Norns on the, 159.\n\n BLODUG-HOFI (bl\u014d\u00b4dug-h\u014d\u00b4f\u0113). Frey\u2019s steed called, 113;\n Gymir\u2019s fire crossed by, 115;\n compared to Pegasus, 284.\n\n BLOODY EAGLE. Description of, 85;\n Sigurd cuts the, 244.\n\n BODEN (b\u014d\u00b4den). The bowl of offering, 93.\n\n BODVILD (bod\u00b4v\u0113ld). Betrayed by V\u00f6lund, 165.\n\n BOHEMIAN FOREST. Same as Behmer, 31.\n\n BOLTHORN (bol\u00b4thorn). Giant called, 12.\n\n BOLWERK (bol\u00b4w\u0113rk). Odin serves, 95.\n\n B\u00d6R (b\u0113r). Marries Bestla, 12;\n earth created by sons of, 13;\n divine element of gods in, 16.\n\n BORGHILD (b\u00f4rg\u00b4hild). Sigmund marries, 234;\n Sinfiotli poisoned by, 236;\n Sigmund repudiates, 237.\n\n BORNHOLM (b\u00f4rn\u00b4holm). The formation of, 215;\n Mannigfual cruise connected with, 290.\n\n BOUS (b\u014d\u00b4us). Same as Vali, 152.\n\n BRAGA-FUL (br\u00e4\u00b4g\u0227-ful). Toast in honor of Bragi, 99.\n\n BRAGA-MEN. Northern scalds, 99.\n\n BRAGA-WOMEN. Northern priestesses, 99.\n\n BRAGI (br\u00e4\u00b4g\u0113). Heroes welcomed to Asgard by, 26;\n Gunlod, mother of, 43;\n god of music and eloquence, 93\u201399;\n birth of, 97;\n the absence of, 102;\n Idun mourns for, 103;\n Idun sought by, 105;\n remains with Idun in Nifl-heim, 106;\n heroes welcomed by Heimdall and, 141;\n \u00c6gir delights in tales of, 174;\n compared to Greek divinities, 283.\n\n BRANSTOCK (bran\u00b4stok). Oak in Volsungs\u2019 hall, 226;\n sword thrust in the, 227;\n Sigmund under the, 234.\n\n BRECHTA (brek\u00b4t\u0227). Frigga, 58.\n\n BREIDABLIK (br\u012b\u00b4d\u0227-blik). Balder\u2019s palace, 182;\n Balder\u2019s corpse carried to, 189;\n compared to Apollo\u2019s palace, 289.\n\n BRIMER (bri\u00b4mer). Hall of giants, 273.\n\n BRISINGA-MEN (bri-sing\u00b4\u0227-men). Necklace of Freya, 127;\n Loki attempts to steal, 140, 286;\n emblem of fruitfulness, 141;\n made by dwarfs, 218.\n\n BROCK. Jealousy of, 66;\n Loki\u2019s wager with, 67;\n three treasures of, 68;\n wager won by, 69;\n story compared with that of Io, 282.\n\n BROCKEN (br\u014fk\u00b4en). Witches\u2019 dance on the, 130;\n Norns on the, 159.\n\n BROWNIES. Same as dwarfs, 217;\n same as elves, 223.\n\n BRUNHILD (bro\u035eon\u00b4hild). A Valkyr, 165;\n Sigurd finds, 247;\n Sigurd wooes, 248;\n Sigurd marries, 249;\n Sigurd forgets, 250;\n Gunnar loves, 251;\n Gunnar wooes by proxy, 252;\n wrath and jealousy of, 253;\n H\u00f6gni swears to avenge, 254;\n rejoices at death of Sigurd, 255;\n death of, 256;\n Atli, brother of, 257;\n compared to Greek divinities, 261, 291, 292.\n\n BRUNNAKER (bro\u035eon\u00b4na-ker). Idun\u2019s grove in, 102.\n\n BURGUNDIAN (b\u0113r-gun\u00b4di-an). Ildico, a princess, 87;\n Gunnar, a monarch, 262.\n\n BURI (b\u016b\u00b4r\u0113). Creation of, 11;\n giants\u2019 war against, 12.\n\n BURI. Grove where Frey and Gerda meet, 116.\n\n BYZANTINE (bi-zan\u00b4tin). Teutonic race influenced by that faith, 224.\n\n\n CACUS (k\u0101\u00b4kus). Hrungnir compared to, 282.\n\n CADUCEUS (ka-d\u016b\u00b4she-us). Gambantein compared to, 286.\n\n CAIN\u2019S HUNT. The Wild Hunt, 32.\n\n CALAIS (kal\u00b4is). Mannigfual passes, 214.\n\n CALYPSO (ka-lip\u00b4so). Compared to Holda, 281.\n\n CAMOMILE. Called \u201cBalder\u2019s brow,\u201d 182.\n\n CAPITOLINE HILL. Vitellius slain on, 87.\n\n CARTHAGE. Compared to Seeland, 280.\n\n CASTOR. Compared to Erp, S\u00f6rli, and Hamdir, 292.\n\n CATTEGAT (kat\u00b4e-gat). \u00c6gir dwells in, 171, 288.\n\n CAUCASUS (kaw\u00b4ka-sus). Loki\u2019s punishment compared to Prometheus\u2019s on\n the, 289.\n\n CELTIC (sel\u00b4tik). Origin of the language, 274.\n\n CEPHALUS (sef\u00b4a-lus). A personification of the sun, 277.\n\n CERBERUS (s\u0113r\u00b4be-rus). Analogy of Garm and, 288.\n\n CERES (s\u0113\u00b4r\u0113z). Compared to Rinda, 277;\n compared to Frigga, 279;\n compared to Groa, 282;\n personification of earth, 289.\n\n CERYNEAN STAG (ser-i-n\u0113\u00b4an). Story of, 276.\n\n CHANGELINGS. Recipe for riddance of, 31, 219.\n\n CHAOS. World rose from, 10;\n analogy between Greek and Northern conception of, 275.\n\n CHARIOT. Sun and moon, 14;\n night and day, 15;\n Irmin\u2019s, 36;\n Holda\u2019s, 57;\n Nerthus\u2019s, 59;\n Thor\u2019s, 64, 69, 78;\n Frey\u2019s, 113;\n Freya\u2019s, 128;\n comparison between chariots of Greek and Northern gods, 276.\n\n CHARLEMAGNE (sh\u00e4r\u00b4le-m\u0101n). Leader of Wild Hunt, 31, 32;\n Bertha, mother of, 58;\n Freya\u2019s temple destroyed by, 128;\n sword of, 165.\n\n CHARLES V. Alva, general of, 88.\n\n CHARLES\u2019S WAIN. Same as Great Bear, 36.\n\n CHARON (k\u0101\u00b4ron). Compared to M\u00f6dgud, 288.\n\n CHARYBDIS (ka-rib\u00b4dis). Northern parallel to, 283.\n\n CHERU (k\u0113r\u00b4\u016b). Same as Tyr, 86;\n sword of, 87, 88;\n Heimdall same as, 141.\n\n CHERUSKI (ke-ro\u035dos\u00b4k\u0113). The worship of the, 86.\n\n CHIRON (k\u012b\u00b4ron). Compared to Gripir, 291.\n\n CHRIST. Peace of Frodi at birth of, 122.\n\n CHRISTIANITY. Attempts to introduce, 58, 88, 130, 212.\n\n CHRISTIANS. Easter feast, 58;\n Norsemen in contact with, 272.\n\n CHRISTIANSO\u00cb. Formation of, 215.\n\n CHRISTMAS. Wild Hunt at, 31;\n Bertha\u2019s visit at, 59;\n Yule now called, 121;\n trolls celebrate, 213.\n\n CLIO (kl\u012b\u00b4\u014d). Same as Saga, 279.\n\n COLCHIS (kol\u00b4kis). Argo sails to, 282.\n\n COLOGNE (ko-l\u014dn\u00b4). Odin visits, 86.\n\n COLUMBUS. Norsemen discovered America before, 224.\n\n CORONIS (ko-r\u014d\u00b4n\u00eds). Ratatosk compared to crow in story of, 278.\n\n CRETAN LABYRINTH. Compared to V\u00f6lund\u2019s house, 287.\n\n CRETE (kr\u0113t). Odin\u2019s tomb at Upsala compared to Jupiter\u2019s in, 280.\n\n CYCLOPS (s\u012b\u00b4klops). Compared to Loki, 284;\n to Northern dwarfs, 291.\n\n CYNTHIA (sin\u00b4thi-\u0227). Mani compared to, 276.\n\n\n D\u00c6DALUS (d\u0113\u00b4d\u0227-lus). Compared to V\u00f6lund, 287.\n\n DAG. Son of Nott, 15;\n a treacherous Hunding, 235.\n\n DAIN (d\u0101\u00b4in). Stag on Yggdrasil, 20.\n\n DANAE (dan\u00b4\u0101-\u0113). Compared to Rinda, 286.\n\n DANES. Sacrificing place of, 53;\n Frey, ruler of, 122;\n Mysinger slays, 123;\n Ragnar Lodbrog, king of the, 249.\n\n DANISH BALLAD. Aager and Else a, 170.\n\n DANUBE. Cheru\u00b4s sword buried on banks of, 87.\n\n DAPHNE (daf\u00b4ne). Northern equivalent, 277.\n\n DAY. Divisions of, 17;\n Vafthrudnir\u2019s questions about, 37.\n\n DECEMBER. Uller\u2019s month, 133.\n\n DEIANEIRA (d\u0113-i-a-n\u012b\u00b4r\u0227). Loki\u2019s jealousy compared to that of, 289.\n\n DELLINGER (del\u00b4ling-er). Third husband of Nott, 15.\n\n DELPHI (del\u00b4f\u012b). Compared to Gimli, 290.\n\n DELUGE. Ymir\u00b4s blood causes, 12;\n Ragnarok, a version of, 290.\n\n DENMARK. Odin conquers, 43, 44;\n Frey in, 122;\n Freya in, 124;\n Konur, king of, 143;\n Norns visit, 157;\n horn in collection of, 214;\n Gudrun leaves, 257.\n\n DESTINY. Compared to Orlog, 278.\n\n DEUCALION (d\u016b-k\u0101\u00b4li-on) and Pyrrha compared to Lif and Lifthrasir,\n 290.\n\n DIANA (di-a\u00b4n\u0227). Mani corresponds to, 276;\n Skadi compared to, 284.\n\n DIDO (d\u012b\u00b4d\u014d). Compared to Gefjon, 280.\n\n DISES (dis\u00b4ez). Norns same as, 159.\n\n DODONA (d\u014d-d\u014d\u00b4n\u0227). Compared to Upsala, 280.\n\n DOLMENS. Stone altars called, 85.\n\n DONAR (d\u014d\u00b4n\u00e4r). Same as Thor, 61.\n\n DOVER. Mannigfual passes, 214, 290.\n\n DRAUPNIR (droup\u00b4nir). Odin\u2019s ring called, 24;\n Sindri and Brock make, 67;\n Odin receives, 68;\n Skirnir offers Gerda, 115;\n laid on Balder\u2019s pyre, 190;\n Balder sends Odin, 194;\n emblem of fertility, 196;\n dwarfs fashion, 218;\n Greek equivalent, 282.\n\n DROMA (dr\u014d\u00b4m\u0227). Chain for Fenris, 90;\n proverb about, 283.\n\n DRUIDS (dro\u035eo\u00b4idz). Human sacrifices of, 85.\n\n DRUSUS (dro\u035eo\u00b4sus). Warned by a Vala, 158.\n\n DRYADS (dr\u012b\u00b4adz). Northern equivalent for, 277.\n\n DUKE OF ALVA. Cheru\u2019s sword found by, 88.\n\n DUNEYR (d\u016b\u00b4n\u012br). Stag on Yggdrasil, 20.\n\n DUNMOW (dun\u00b4mou). Flitch of bacon, 121.\n\n DURATHOR (d\u016b\u00b4ra-th\u00f4r). Stag on Yggdrasil, 20.\n\n \u201cDUSK OF THE GODS.\u201d Wagner\u00b4s opera, 225.\n\n DVALIN (dv\u00e4\u00b4lin). Stag on Yggdrasil, 20;\n dwarf visited by Loki, 66.\n\n DWARFS. Black elves called, 18;\n \u00c6gir does not rank with, 171;\n one burned with Balder, 191;\n occupations of, 217\u2013221;\n home of the, 273;\n nightmares are, 291.\n\n\n EAGOR. Same as \u00c6gir, 173.\n\n EAST SAXONY. Conquered by Odin, 44.\n\n EASTER. Same as Ostara, 57;\n stones, altars to Ostara, 58.\n\n E\u00c1STRE. Same as Ostara, 57.\n\n ECHO. Dwarf\u2019s talk, 218.\n\n ECKHARDT (ek\u00b4hart). Tries to stop Tannh\u00e4user, 56;\n compared to Mentor, 281.\n\n ECLIPSES. Northern belief concerning cause of, 16.\n\n EDDA. Collection of Northern myths, 10, 45, 225, 272;\n sword-runes in, 85;\n Frey\u2019s wooing related in, 114;\n Heimdall\u2019s visit to earth described in, 141;\n S\u00e6mund, compiler of Elder, 224;\n heroic lays in, 225;\n Younger, 44.\n\n EGIA (\u0113\u00b4gy\u0227). Wave maiden, 137.\n\n EGIL (\u0113\u00b4gil). Marries a Valkyr, 163;\n arrow of, 165;\n Thialfi\u2019s father, 174.\n\n EGLIMI (eg\u00b4li-m\u0113). Father of Hiordis, 237.\n\n EINHERIAR (\u012bn-h\u0101\u00b4ri-ar). Odin\u2019s guests, 25;\n meat of, 27;\n daily battles of, 27;\n Valkyrs wait on, 162;\n Helgi, leader of, 236;\n Giallar-horn calls, 266;\n muster of, 268;\n all slain on Vigrid, 269.\n\n EINMYRIA (\u012bn-m\u0113\u00b4ri-\u0227). Daughter of Loki, 199.\n\n EIRA (\u012b\u00b4r\u0227). Goddess of medicine, 53.\n\n EISA (\u012b\u00b4s\u0227). Daughter of Loki, 199.\n\n EITEL (\u012b\u00b4tel). Son of Atli and Gudrun, 257.\n\n ELB. Water sprite, 179;\n god of the Elbe, 288.\n\n ELBE (el\u00b4be). Drusus stopped at, 159;\n river named after Elb, 179.\n\n ELBEGAST (el\u00b4be-gast). King of the dwarfs, 218.\n\n ELDE (el\u00b4de). \u00c6gir\u2019s servant, 174.\n\n ELDHRIMNIR (el-dhrim\u00b4nir). Kettle in Valhalla, 27.\n\n ELF. Water sprite, 179;\n elf lights, 222;\n elf locks, 223.\n\n ELF. Sigmund buried by, 238;\n Hiordis marries, 239;\n second marriage of, 256.\n\n ELIVAGAR (el-i-vag\u00b4ar). Streams of ice from Hvergelmir, 10, 12;\n Thor crosses, 76;\n rolling ice in, 168;\n Thor\u2019s journey east of, 171.\n\n ELLI (el\u00b4l\u0113). Thor wrestles with, 72, 73.\n\n ELSE (el\u00b4sa). Ballad of Aager and, 170.\n\n ELVES. Light elves, 18;\n occupation of the, 221\u2013225;\n \u00c6gir does not rank with the, 171.\n\n ELVIDNER (el-vid\u00b4ner). Hel\u2019s hall, 168.\n\n EMBLA (em\u00b4bl\u0227). The elm or first woman, 19;\n wooden, 278.\n\n ENCELADUS (en-sel\u00b4a-dus). Compared to Loki, 289.\n\n ENGLAND. Wild Hunt in, 32;\n May-day in, 42;\n Yule in, 119;\n flitch of bacon in, 120, 121;\n miners in, 220;\n Albion same as, 221;\n fairies in, 221, 222;\n Oberon, fairy king in, 223.\n\n ENGLISH CHANNEL. Mannigfual in, 214.\n\n EPIMETHEUS (ep-i-m\u0113\u00b4th\u016bs). Compared to Northern creators, 278.\n\n ER. Same as Tyr, 86;\n Heimdall same as, 141.\n\n ERDA. Same as J\u00f6rd, 61.\n\n ERMENRICH (\u0113r\u00b4men-r\u0113kh). Swanhild marries, 260;\n Gudrun\u2019s sons attack, 261.\n\n ERNA. Jarl marries, 143.\n\n ERP. Son of Atli and Gudrun, 257;\n son of Jonakur and Gudrun, 260;\n slain by brothers, 261;\n to avenge Swanhild, 292.\n\n ESKIMO. Skadi\u2019s dog, 111.\n\n EUB\u0152A (\u016b-b\u0113\u00b4\u0227). \u00c6gir\u2019s palace resembles Neptune\u2019s home in, 288.\n\n EUHEMERUS (\u016b-hem\u00b4er-us). Historical theory of, 280.\n\n EUROPA (\u016b-r\u014d\u00b4p\u0227). Northern equivalent for story of, 290.\n\n EUROPE. \u00c6sir migrate into, 43;\n discovery of, 274.\n\n EURYDICE (\u016b-rid\u00b4i-s\u0113). Compared to Idun, 283.\n\n EUXINE SEA (\u016bk\u00b4sin). Mannigfual\u2019s cruise compared to Argo\u2019s in, 290.\n\n EVENING. Part of day, 17.\n\n EXORCISM. Of spectral hound, 31;\n of changelings, 219, 220.\n\n\n FADIR (f\u00e4\u00b4dir). Heimdall visits, 143.\n\n \u201cFAERIE QUEENE.\u201d Girdle in, 218.\n\n FAFNIR (faf\u00b4nir). Son of Hreidmar, 240;\n gold seized by, 243;\n Sigurd goes to slay, 244, 245, 246;\n Gudrun eats heart of, 251;\n personification of cold and darkness, 262, 292;\n compared to Python, 291.\n\n FAIRY RINGS. Magic spell of, 221.\n\n FAIRYLAND. Alf-heim is, 112.\n\n FARBAUTI (far-bou\u00b4t\u0113). Same as Bergelmir, 199.\n\n FAROE ISLANDS. Thor\u2019s name in, 81.\n\n FATES. Yggdrasil sprinkled by Northern, 20;\n compared to Norns, 286, 287.\n\n FEBRUARY. Vali\u2019s month is, 153.\n\n FENG. Same as Odin, 244.\n\n FENIA. Giantess slave of Frodi, 122.\n\n FENRIS (fen\u00b4ris). Birth and capture of, 89;\n story of, 89\u201392;\n shoe to defend Vidar against, 148;\n prediction concerning, 149;\n Hel related to, 166;\n birth of, 200;\n Loki, father of, 212;\n released from bonds, 265;\n Loki leads, 268;\n death of, 269;\n Tyr alone dare face, 283;\n compared to Nemean lion, 286;\n compared to Pyrrhus, 290.\n\n FENSALIR (fen\u00b4s\u00e4l-ir). Frigga\u2019s palace, 47;\n Frigga spinning in, 187.\n\n FIALAR (fy\u00e4l\u00b4ar).\n 1. Kvasir slain by, 93.\n 2. Red cock of Valhalla, 265.\n\n FIMBULWINTER (fim\u00b4bul-win-ter). Prediction of coming, 192;\n terror of people at approach of, 264;\n Greek equivalent, 290.\n\n FINITE NATURE. Of gods, 16.\n\n FINNS. Hermod visits the, 145.\n\n FIOLNIR (fyol\u00b4nir).\n 1. Birth of, 117.\n 2. Same as Odin, 244.\n\n FIORGYN (fy\u00f4r\u00b4g\u0113n). Genealogy of, 43;\n Frigga, daughter of, 46.\n\n FLAX. Discovery of, 54\u201356.\n\n FLINT. Origin of, 75, 76.\n\n FLITCH. Of bacon, 120, 121.\n\n FLORA. Nanna compared to, 289.\n\n FOLKVANG (f\u014dk\u00b4vang). Freya\u00b4s home, 77, 124;\n warriors and wives in, 125;\n Loki enters, 140.\n\n FORENOON. Part of day, 17.\n\n FORNJOTNR (f\u00f4rn-y\u014dt\u00b4nr). Same as Ymir, 199;\n giants descended from, 212.\n\n FORSETI (f\u00f4r-set\u00b4e). God of justice, 134\u2013137;\n Greek equivalent for, 286;\n the land of, 136.\n\n FRAANANGER (fr\u0101-nan\u00b4ger). Loki takes refuge in, 206.\n\n FRANCE. Golden age in, 58;\n Oberon, fairy king in, 223.\n\n FRANCONIA. Conquered by Odin, 44.\n\n FRANKISH. Kings\u2019 descent, 212;\n queen marries giant, 290.\n\n FRANKLAND. Hindarfiall in, 246.\n\n FRANKS. Worship of Tyr among the, 85;\n martial games of the, 88.\n\n FRAU GODE (frou g\u014d\u00b4d\u0101). Same as Frigga, 59.\n\n FRAU HOLLE. Same as Frigga, 54.\n\n FRAU VENUS. Same as Holda, 56.\n\n FREDERICK BARBAROSSA. Wild Hunt led by, 31.\n\n FREKI (frek\u00b4\u0113). Odin\u00b4s wolf, 24, 278.\n\n FRENCH REVOLUTION. Wild Hunt announces, 32.\n\n FREY (fr\u012b). Comes to Asgard, 22, 107;\n present for, 66;\n Gullin-bursti and Skidbladnir for, 68;\n toast to, 111;\n god of summer, 112\u2013124;\n Freya, sister of, 124;\n rides with Freya, 128;\n Freya marries, 129;\n sword of, 219;\n elves governed by, 221;\n deprived of power, 223;\n weapon, a stag\u2019s horn, 267;\n fights Surtr, 268;\n death of, 269;\n boar of, 282;\n Greek equivalent, 284.\n\n FREYA (fr\u012b\u00b4\u0227). Comes to Asgard, 22, 107;\n Hrungnir wants, 74;\n Loki borrows falcon plumes of, 77, 103;\n anger of, 77;\n Thor borrows garments of, 78;\n Thor personates, 79;\n Freya, goddess of beauty, 124\u2013130;\n Friday sacred to, 128;\n Loki steals necklace of, 140, 199;\n the earth is, 141;\n Valkyrs led by, 162;\n promised to giant, 202;\n gods fear to lose, 203;\n dwarfs make necklace for, 218;\n Greek equivalents, 279, 282, 285.\n\n FREYGERDA (fr\u012b-g\u0113r\u00b4\u0227). Wife of Fridleef, 122.\n\n FRIDAY. Sacred to Freya, 128.\n\n FRIDLEEF (frid\u00b4leef). Same as Frey, 122.\n\n FRIGGA (frig\u00b4\u0227). Sits on Hlidskialf, 23;\n Odin disguises himself by advice of, 37;\n Agnar fostered by, 40;\n Odin outwitted by, 41, 49;\n wife of Vili and Ve, 42;\n Odin\u2019s wife, 43;\n seven sons of, 44;\n goddess of earth, 44\u201360;\n goddess of atmosphere, 46;\n secrecy of, 46;\n worshiped with Odin, 54;\n Thor, son of, 61;\n Nerthus same as, 108;\n Freya same as, 124;\n Uller marries, 131;\n Balder and Hodur, sons of, 182;\n Balder\u2019s depression noticed by, 183;\n all things swear to, 184;\n Loki wrests secret from, 187, 188;\n Hermod departs at request of, 189;\n the hope of, 192;\n emblem of earth, 196;\n grants Rerir\u2019s wish, 226;\n Greek equivalents, 279, 280, 282, 289.\n\n FRISIANS (friz\u00b4ianz). Want new laws, 135;\n tradition of, 214.\n\n FRO. Same as Frey, 112, 120, 284.\n\n FRODI (fr\u014d\u00b4d\u0113). Mill of, 122;\n death of, 123.\n\n FULLA (ful\u00b4\u0227). Attendant of Frigga, 48, 50, 57;\n Nanna sends ring to, 194.\n\n FUNFENG (fun\u00b4feng). \u00c6gir\u2019s servant, 174;\n Loki jealous of, 205.\n\n FYLGIE (f\u0113l\u00b4gye). Guardian spirit, 159.\n\n\n GABRIEL\u2019S HOUNDS. Wild Hunt in England, 30.\n\n GALAR (g\u00e4l\u00b4ar). Kvasir slain by, 93.\n\n GAMBANTEIN (gam\u00b4ban-t\u012bn). Wand of Hermod, 145;\n like Caduceus, 286.\n\n GAMLA UPSALA (gam\u00b4l\u0227 up-s\u00e4\u00b4l\u0227). Odin\u2019s, Frey\u2019s, and Thor\u2019s mounds\n near, 118.\n\n GANGLER (gang\u00b4ler). Deludes Gylfi, 44.\n\n GANGRAD (gang\u00b4r\u00e4d). Odin as, 37.\n\n GANYMEDE (gan\u00b4i-m\u0113d). Northern equivalent for story of, 283.\n\n GARM. Dog of Hel, 167;\n Odin passes, 184;\n Hel followed by, 267;\n Loki leads, 268;\n death of, 269;\n compared to Cerberus, 288.\n\n GEFJON (gef\u00b4yon). Gylfi visited by, 52;\n compared to Dido, 280.\n\n GEFN. Same as Freya, 125.\n\n GEIR ODDS (g\u012br odz). Carving of, 44, 169.\n\n GEIRROD (g\u012br\u00b4rod).\n 1. Story of, 39\u201341.\n 2. Loki visits, 79;\n Thor visits, 80, 81, 148;\n Loki accompanies Thor to, 199;\n Greek equivalent, 279.\n\n GELGIA (gel\u00b4gy\u1ea1). End of Fenris\u2019s fetter, 92.\n\n GERDA (g\u1ebdr\u00b4d\u0227). Wooed by Frey, 114, 115, 116;\n Greek counterparts of, 285.\n\n GERI (g\u1ebdr\u00b4\u0113). Odin\u2019s wolf, 24, 278.\n\n GERMAN. Cheru\u2019s sword belongs to a, 86;\n Langobart, a long beard in, 50;\n Eckhardt the mentor, 56;\n belief in Lorelei, 180;\n topographical belief, 211;\n belief in fairies, 222;\n epic, Nibelungenlied, 225.\n\n GERMANY. Wild Hunt in, 32;\n Odin conquers, 43;\n Abundantia worshiped in, 51;\n worship of Frigga in, 54;\n Easter-stones in, 58;\n golden age in, 58;\n belief in White Lady in, 59;\n Thor, kettle vender in, 64;\n storms in, 69;\n Nerthus in, 108;\n Frey is Fro in, 112;\n Yule in, 119;\n Freya\u00b4s worship in, 124, 125;\n temple in Magdeburg in, 128;\n Freya now a witch in, 130;\n Uller in, 132;\n the Elbe in, 179;\n sandhills in, 214;\n sacrifices to elves in, 223.\n\n GERSEMI (g\u0113r\u00b4se-m\u0113). Freya\u2019s daughter, 125.\n\n GERTRUDE (g\u0113r\u00b4tro\u035eod). Replaces Freya in Germany, 130.\n\n GIALLAR (gy\u00e4l\u00b4lar). Bridge in Nifl-heim, 167;\n Odin rides over, 184;\n trembling of, 192;\n Greek equivalent, 288.\n\n GIALLAR-HORN. Heimdall\u2019s trumpet, 21, 138;\n last blast of the, 265;\n Greek equivalent, 286.\n\n GIALP (gy\u00e4lp). Incantation of, 80;\n Thor breaks the back of, 81;\n wave maiden called, 137.\n\n GIANTS. Birth of ice, 11;\n gods slay the, 12;\n \u00c6gir does not belong to the, 171;\n Hyrrokin summoned by the, 190;\n general account of the, 210\u2013217;\n Brimer, hall of, 273.\n\n GILLING (gil\u00b4ling). Giant slain by dwarfs, 93;\n death of wife of, 94.\n\n GIMLI (gim\u00b4l\u0113). Not consumed in Ragnarok, 272;\n compared to Delphi, 290.\n\n GINNUNGA-GAP (ge-no\u035eon\u00b4g\u0227-gap). Primeval abyss, 10;\n giants come to life in, 210.\n\n GIOLL (gyol). Rock to which Fenris is bound, 92.\n\n GI\u00d6LL (gy\u0113l). River boundary of Nifl-heim, 167;\n Hermod crosses, 192;\n like Acheron, 288.\n\n GIUKI (gi-\u00b4o\u035eoki). Niblung king, 250;\n Sigurd, blood brother of sons of, 251.\n\n GIUKINGS. Sons of Giuki, 251;\n Sigurd slain by, 256.\n\n GLADS-HEIM (gl\u00e4dz-h\u012bm). Twelve seats in, 25;\n Tyr welcomed in, 84;\n Vali dwells in, 153;\n Odin returns to, 187.\n\n GLASIR (gl\u00e4\u00b4sir). The golden grove of, 25.\n\n GLAUMVOR (gloum\u00b4vor). Second wife of Gunnar, 257.\n\n GLAUR (glour). Husband of Sol, 14.\n\n GLEIPNIR (gl\u012bp\u00b4nir). Manufacture of, 90, 91.\n\n GLITNIR (glit\u00b4nir). Forseti\u2019s hall, 134.\n\n GLITTERING HEATH. Fafnir on the, 243.\n\n GLUT (glo\u035eot). Loki\u2019s first wife, 199.\n\n GNA (gn\u00e4). Messenger of Frigga, 51;\n carries apple to Rerir, 226;\n compared to Iris, 280.\n\n GNIPA (gn\u0113\u00b4p\u0227). Cave in Nifl-heim, 167;\n Garm in, 288.\n\n GN\u00ceTAHEID (gn\u0113\u00b4t\u0227-h\u012bd). Fafnir on, 243.\n\n GNOMES (n\u014dmz). Same as dwarfs, 18.\n\n GOBLINS. Same as dwarfs, 217.\n\n GODE (g\u014d\u00b4de). Same as Frigga, 59.\n\n GODEY. Thor\u2019s temple at, 82.\n\n GODI. Human sacrifices by, 85.\n\n GOLD. Freya\u2019s tears are, 126;\n the flame of the sea, 172.\n\n GOLDEN AGE, 19;\n Norns arrive after, 154;\n Greek equivalent for Northern, 278;\n Frey\u2019s reign the, 284.\n\n GONDEMAR (gon\u00b4de-mar). King of the dwarfs, 218.\n\n GOTHLAND. Thor\u2019s temple in, 82;\n Sigmund leaves, 234;\n Ermenrich, king of, 260.\n\n GOTHS. Siggeir, king of the, 226;\n Sigmund and Sinfiotli, prisoners of the, 233.\n\n GRANE (gr\u00e4\u00b4n\u0113). Sigurd chooses, 240.\n\n GREAT BEAR. Odin\u2019s Wain, 36.\n\n GREENLAND. First settlement, 224.\n\n GREIP (gr\u012bp). Thor breaks the back of, 81;\n a wave maiden called, 137.\n\n GRENDEL. Son of Hler, 213.\n\n GREYFELL (gr\u0101\u00b4fel). Same as Grane, 240;\n Sigurd loads hoard on, 246;\n Gunnar borrows, 251;\n Sigurd rides through flames on, 252;\n burned with Sigurd, 256.\n\n GRID. Wife of Odin, 43, 80, 147;\n gives Vidar shoe, 148;\n with Vidar and Odin, 149.\n\n GRIMHILD (grim\u00b4hild). Queen of the Niblungs, 250;\n wishes Gunnar to marry, 251, 252, 253;\n gives magic potion to Guttorm, 254;\n to Gudrun, 257.\n\n GRIMNIR. Odin as, 41.\n\n GRIOTTUNAGARD (gryot-t\u016b\u00b4na-g\u00e4rd). The dual in, 74.\n\n GRIPIR (gr\u0113\u00b4pir). Stud-keeper of Elf, 240;\n prophecies of, 244;\n compared to Chiron, 291.\n\n GROA (gr\u014d\u00b4\u0227). Incantations of, 76;\n compared to Ceres, 282.\n\n GROTTI. Magic mill, 122, 123.\n\n GRYPTO. Nun on, 212.\n\n GUDRUN (go\u035eo-dro\u035eon\u00b4).\n 1. A Valkyr marries Helgi, 235;\n self-sacrifice of, 236.\n 2. Gives magic potion to Sigurd, 250;\n marries Sigurd, 251;\n Sigurd gives ring to, 253;\n Sigurd offers to repudiate, 254;\n mourning of, 255;\n goes to Denmark, 256;\n wooed by Atli, 257;\n Niblungs helped by, 258;\n slays her children, 259;\n revenge of, 260;\n sends sons to avenge Swanhild, 261;\n same as Ildico, 262;\n Greek equivalent, 292.\n\n GULL-TOP (go\u035eol-top). Heimdall\u2019s steed, 139.\n\n GULLFAXI (go\u035eol-fax\u00b4\u0113). Hrungnir\u2019s steed, 73;\n Magni receives, 75.\n\n GULLIN-BURSTI (go\u035eol\u00b4in-b\u0113rs-t\u0113). Making of, 67;\n Frey receives, 68, 113;\n dwarfs manufacture, 218.\n\n GULLIN-KAMBI (go\u035eol\u00b4in-k\u00e4m-b\u0113). Midgard rooster, 265.\n\n GULLIN-TANI (go\u035eol\u00b4in-t\u00e4-n\u0113). Same as Heimdall, 139.\n\n GUNDICARIUS (go\u035eon-di-c\u00e4r\u00b4i-us). Same as Gunnar, 262.\n\n GUNGNIR (go\u035eong\u00b4nir). Odin\u2019s spear, 24;\n made of Yggdrasil wood, 37;\n runes on, 39;\n Dvalin makes point of, 66, 218;\n Odin receives, 68;\n Hermod throws, 144;\n Dag borrows, 235;\n Greek equivalent, 277.\n\n GUNLOD (go\u035eon\u00b4lod). Mother of Bragi, 43;\n guardian of inspiration, 94;\n Odin visits, 95, 96.\n\n GUNNAR (gun\u00b4n\u00e4r). Son of Giuki, 250;\n wooing of Brunhild by, 251;\n Brunhild marries, 253;\n repentance of, 255;\n Brunhild burned by order of, 256;\n Atli asks compensation for death of the sister of, 257;\n courage and oath of, 258;\n death of, 259;\n same as Gundicarius, 262;\n Greek equivalents, 292.\n\n GUTTORM (go\u035eot\u00b4torm). Son of Giuki, 250;\n Sigurd slain by, 254;\n death of, 255.\n\n GYLFI (g\u0113l\u00b4f\u0113). Odin welcomed by, 43;\n delusion of, 44;\n Gefjon visits, 52;\n Greek equivalent, 280.\n\n GYMIR (g\u0113\u00b4mir). Gerda, daughter of, 114;\n dwelling of, 115;\n \u00c6gir same as, 173;\n son of Hler, 212.\n\n\n HADES (h\u0101\u00b4d\u0113z). Compared to Nifl-heim, 281, 289;\n J\u00f6tun-heim compared to, 283.\n\n HAGAL. Fosters Helgi, 235.\n\n HAGEDISES (hag\u00b4e-dis-ez). Norns called, 159.\n\n HAKON (h\u00e4\u00b4kon). Thora, daughter of, 256;\n marries a Valkyr, 287.\n\n HALLINSKIDE (h\u00e4l\u00b4lin-sk\u0113-de). Heimdall, same as, 141.\n\n HAMADRYADS. Northern equivalents, 277.\n\n HAMDIR (ham\u00b4dir). Son of Gudrun, 260;\n death of, 261;\n Greek equivalent, 292.\n\n HAMELIN (ham\u00b4e-lin). Story of Pied Piper of, 33, 34;\n Greek equivalent, 280.\n\n HAMMER. To dedicate boundaries, homes, marriages, 64;\n effect of, 70;\n the theft of the, 76;\n sign of the, 99.\n\n HAMOND. Son of Sigmund, 234.\n\n HANS VON HACKELBERG. Leader of Wild Hunt, 31, 32.\n\n HAR. One of the triad seen by Gylfi, 44.\n\n HARALD HARFAGER (h\u00e4r\u00b4fag-er). Norseman driven away by, 224.\n\n HATI (h\u00e4\u00b4t\u0113). Wolf pursuing orbs, 16;\n fed in Ironwood, 265;\n demon of darkness, 290.\n\n HATTO. Bishop of Mayence, 35.\n\n H\u00c1VAM\u00c1L (hav\u00b4a-mal). Code of laws and ethics, 45.\n\n HEBE (h\u0113\u00b4b\u0113). Compared to Valkyrs, 287.\n\n HECTOR. Northern equivalent, 290.\n\n HEIDRUN (h\u012b\u00b4dro\u035eon). Goat supplying mead, 20;\n compared to Amalthea, 278.\n\n HEIM-DELLINGER. Same as Heimdall, 139.\n\n HEIMCHEN. Unborn children, 58.\n\n HEIMDALL (h\u012bm\u00b4d\u00e4l). Bifr\u00f6st guarded by, 21;\n nine mothers of, 43;\n Thor advised by, 78;\n Idun sought by, 105;\n Brisinga-men saved by, 127;\n watch-warder of Asgard, 137\u2013143;\n connected with \u00c6sir, 147;\n watchfulness of, 202;\n Loki to be slain by, 208;\n horn blown by, 265;\n Loki fights, 268;\n death of, 269;\n Greek equivalents, 286.\n\n HEIME. Miming, the sword of, 165.\n\n \u201cHEIMSKRINGLA\u201d (h\u012bmz\u00b4kring-l\u0227). Northern chronicle, 117.\n\n HEL. Goddess of death, 32;\n birth and banishment of, 89, 200;\n realm of, 98;\n Idun\u2019s sojourn with, 105, 106;\n Uller with, 133;\n Skuld as, 159;\n the home of, 166\u2013170;\n Odin visits, 184;\n daughter of Loki, 212;\n Hermod goes to, 184;\n couches spread by, 185;\n Hermod visits, 189;\n challenged, 192;\n urged to release Balder, 193;\n Hermod leaves, 194;\n the bird of, 265;\n arrives on Vigrid, 267;\n army of, 268;\n realm burned, 269;\n Garm guards gate of, 288;\n rake of, 289.\n\n HEL-CAKE. Provided for Garm, 167.\n\n HEL-GATE. Hermod passes, 167, 193.\n\n HEL-SHOES. For feet of dead, 167.\n\n HEL-WAY. Hermod journeys along the, 192.\n\n HELA. Same as Hel, 166.\n\n HELEN. Northern equivalents, 290, 291, 292.\n\n HELFERICH (hel\u00b4fer-\u0113kh). Same as Elf, 238.\n\n HELFRAT (hel\u00b4frat). Same as Elf, 238.\n\n HELGI. Glorious career of, 234, 235;\n marriage of, 287.\n\n HELIADES (he-l\u012b\u00b4a-d\u0113z). Northern equivalent, 285.\n\n HELICON. Compared to Sokvabek, 279;\n to Od-hroerir, 283.\n\n HELIGOLAND (hel\u00b4i-go-l\u00e4nd). Naming of, 131.\n\n HELIOS (h\u0113\u00b4li-os). Northern equivalent, 276.\n\n HELMET OF DREAD, 242, 243;\n Sigurd uses the, 246, 251, 256.\n\n HENGI-KIAPTR (heng\u00b4g\u0113-ky\u00e4p\u2019tr). Frodi\u2019s mill called, 122.\n\n HENGIST (heng\u00b4gist). Descendant of Odin, 44.\n\n HENRY. Murder of, 32;\n Ilse seen by, 215.\n\n HERACLID\u00c6 (her-a-kl\u012b\u00b4d\u0113). Northern equivalents, 279.\n\n HERCULES (h\u0113r\u00b4cu-l\u0113z). Northern equivalents, 276, 281, 282, 286, 287,\n 289.\n\n HERLA. Mythical king of England, 32.\n\n HERLATHING. Wild Hunt called, 32.\n\n HERM\u00c6 (h\u0113r\u00b4m\u0113). Comparison between Northern boundaries and, 281.\n\n HERMOD (h\u0113r\u00b4mod). Heroes welcomed by, 26;\n Frigga mother of, 43;\n messenger of gods, 144, 146;\n journeys to Nifl-heim, 167, 189, 190\u2013194;\n Greek equivalent, 286.\n\n HEROD. Leader of Wild Hunt, 32.\n\n HERU. Same as Tyr, 86;\n same as Heimdall, 141.\n\n HERVOR (h\u0113r\u00b4vor). Daughter of Angantyr, 219.\n\n HIALLI (hy\u00e4l\u00b4l\u0113). The trembling heart of, 259.\n\n HIGH SONG. Same as H\u00e1vam\u00e1l, 45.\n\n HIMINBIORG (him\u00b4in-by\u0113rg). Heimdall\u2019s palace, 138, 143.\n\n HIMINBRIOTER (him\u00b4in-bry\u014d-ter). Thor slays, 175.\n\n HINDARFIALL (hin\u00b4dar-fy\u00e4l). Sigurd comes to, 246;\n Brunhild asleep on, 248;\n Brunhild\u2019s story not ended on, 250.\n\n HINDFELL (hind\u00b4fel). Same as Hindarfiall, 248.\n\n HIORDIS (hy\u00f4r\u00b4dis). Sigmund marries, 237;\n and leaves sword to, 238;\n Elf marries, 239;\n Sigurd obtains sword from, 244;\n death of, 256.\n\n HIPPOMENES (hip-pom\u00b4e-n\u0113z). Northern equivalent, 285.\n\n HIUKI (h\u016b\u00b4k\u0113). Companion of Mani, 16.\n\n HLADER (hl\u00e4\u00b4der). Thor\u2019s temple at, 82.\n\n HLEIDRA (hl\u012b\u00b4dr\u0227). Capital of Denmark, 53.\n\n HLER. Same as \u00c6gir, 171, 173;\n brother of Loki, 199;\n son of Fornjotnr, 212.\n\n HLESEY. \u00c6gir\u2019s palace in, 171, 174.\n\n HLIDSKIALF (hlidz\u00b4ky\u0227lf). Odin\u2019s seat, 23, 25, 79;\n Odin sees sons of Hrauding from, 40;\n Frigga sits on, 46;\n Odin sees Vandals from, 49;\n Frey mounts, 114.\n\n HLIN. Frigga\u2019s attendant, 51.\n\n HLODYN (hlo\u00b4d\u0113n). Same as Nerthus, 60.\n\n HLORA. Thor fostered by, 61.\n\n HLORRIDI (hl\u00f4r-r\u0113\u00b4d\u0113). Same as Thor, 61.\n\n HNIKAR (hn\u0113\u00b4kar). Same as Odin, 244.\n\n HNOSS. Freya\u2019s daughter, 125.\n\n HODMIMIR (hod-m\u0113\u00b4mir). The forest of, 270.\n\n HODUR (h\u014d\u00b4der). Personification of darkness, 133, 197;\n Vali to slay, 152, 186;\n twin brother of Balder, 182;\n Balder to be slain by, 185;\n Balder slain by, 188, 189;\n Vali slays, 195, 287;\n explanation of myth of, 196;\n Loki guides hand of, 204;\n return of, 271.\n\n HOENIR (h\u0113\u00b4nir). Gives motion to man, 19;\n earth visited by, 101, 240;\n Loki joins, 102;\n hostage in Vana-heim, 107;\n peasant asks aid of, 201;\n survival of, 271.\n\n HOFVARPNIR (hof-v\u00e4rp\u00b4nir). Gna\u2019s fleet steed, 51.\n\n H\u00d6GNI (h\u0113g\u00b4n\u0113). Son of Giuki, 250;\n Sigurd\u2019s death planned by, 254;\n warning given by, 257;\n captive, 258;\n the heart of, 259.\n\n HOLDA. Same as Frigga, 54;\n Uller, husband of, 132.\n\n HOLLAND. Frigga worshiped in, 59.\n\n HOLLE, FRAU. Same as Frigga, 54.\n\n HOLLER. Same as Uller, 132.\n\n HOLMGANG. Thor\u2019s and Hrungnir\u2019s, 74, 75.\n\n HOLY INNOCENTS. In Wild Hunt, 32.\n\n HONEY. Drips from Yggdrasil, 20.\n\n HORN. Same as Freya, 125.\n\n HORSA. Descendant of Odin, 44.\n\n H\u00d6RSELBERG (h\u0113r\u00b4sel-berg). Holda\u2019s abode in the, 56, 281.\n\n HOSTAGES. Exchanged by \u00c6sir and Vanas, 22.\n\n HR\u00c6-SVELGR (hr\u0101-svelgr\u00b4). Giant eagle, 17;\n winds personified by, 277.\n\n HRAUDING (hroud\u00b4ing). Agnar and Geirrod, sons of, 39.\n\n HREIDMAR (hr\u012bd\u00b4mar). Story of, 240\u2013243.\n\n HRIM-FAXI. Steed of Night, 15.\n\n HRIM-THURS (hr\u0113m-to\u035eors). Ice giants at creation, 11;\n Skadi, a, 109;\n architect of Valhalla, a, 203.\n\n HROTHI (hr\u014d\u00b4t\u0113). Sword of Fafnir, 243.\n\n HRUNGNIR (hro\u035eong\u00b4nir). Odin races with, 73;\n Thor\u2019s duel with, 74, 75;\n Greek equivalents, 282.\n\n HRYM (hr\u0113m). Vessel steered by, 266.\n\n HUBERT, SAINT. Uller merged into, 132.\n\n HUGI (h\u016b\u00b4gi). Thialfi races with, 72.\n\n HUGIN (h\u016b\u00b4gin). Odin\u2019s raven, 24, 278;\n Od-hroerir discovered by, 94.\n\n HULDA (hul\u00b4d\u0227). Same as Holda, 54.\n\n HULDRA (hul\u00b4dr\u0227). Same as Holda, 60.\n\n HULDRA FOLK. Same as dwarfs and elves, 60, 217, 223.\n\n HUNALAND. Gna flies over, 51, 234;\n Brunhild\u2019s home in, 248.\n\n HUNDING. Helgi\u2019s feud with, 235;\n descendants of, 237, 257, 260, 262.\n\n HUNGARY. Attila settles in, 87.\n\n HUNS. Invasion by the, 87;\n Sigi, king of the, 226;\n Land of the, 257, 258, 260, 262, 292.\n\n HUNTSMAN OF FONTAINEBLEAU. Leader of Wild Hunt, 32.\n\n HVERGELMIR (hwer-gel\u00b4mir). The seething caldron, 10;\n Yggdrasil root near, 19;\n Nidhug in, 20;\n ice streams from, 168;\n wicked in, 169.\n\n HYMIR (h\u0113\u00b4mir). Story of Thor\u2019s visit and fishing with, 174\u2013177.\n\n HYNDLA (h\u0113nd\u00b4l\u0227). Freya and Ottar visit, 129.\n\n HYPERBOREANS. Northern equivalent, 276.\n\n HYPERION. Northern equivalent, 276.\n\n HYRROKIN (h\u0113r\u00b4ro-kin). Ringhorn launched by, 190, 191.\n\n\n IAFN-HAR (y\u0227fn\u00b4h\u00e4r). Gylfi sees, 44.\n\n IARN-GREIPER (y\u00e4rn\u00b4gr\u012b-per). Thor\u2019s glove, 63.\n\n IARNSAXA (y\u00e4rn\u00b4sax-\u0227).\n 1. Thor\u2019s wife called, 64;\n feeds wolves, 265.\n 2. A wave maiden, 137.\n\n ICELAND. Thvera in, 118;\n Freya in, 124;\n maze in, 164;\n earthquakes and geysers in, 208;\n Norsemen settle in, 272;\n scenery of, 275.\n\n ICELANDERS. Records of, 9, 139;\n call mountains Jokul, 211.\n\n ICELANDIC. Shores, 224.\n\n IDA. Same as Idavold, 187;\n gods return to, 271;\n same as Asgard, 277.\n\n IDAVOLD. Plain where gods dwell, 18;\n gods play on, 187;\n Balder slain on, 188;\n last meeting on, 271.\n\n IDISES (\u0113-dis\u00b4ez). Norns, 159.\n\n IDUN (\u0113\u00b4doon). Daughter of Ivald, 98;\n story of, 100\u2013106;\n returns to Asgard, 108;\n apples of, 155;\n Loki betrays, 199;\n Greek equivalents, 283, 284.\n\n IFING (\u0113\u00b4fing). River surrounding Idavold, 18;\n Vafthrudnir asks about, 38;\n Loki flies across, 77.\n\n ILDICO (il\u00b4di-co). Wife of Attila, 87, 88;\n same as Gudrun, 262.\n\n ILSE (il\u00b4se). Story of Princess, 215;\n compared to Arethusa, 288.\n\n ILSENSTEIN (il\u00b4sen-st\u012bn). Home of Princess Ilse, 215.\n\n INDIA. Languages of, 274.\n\n INGLINGS. Frey\u2019s descendants called, 122, 279.\n\n INGVI-FREY. Story of, 117\u2013122.\n\n INSPIRATION. The story of the draft of, 93\u201397.\n\n IO. Northern equivalents for story of, 280, 281.\n\n I\u00d6RMUNGANDR (y\u0113r\u00b4mun-gandr). Birth and banishment of, 89;\n Hel related to, 166;\n Thor angles for, 176;\n origin of, 200;\n rises from sea, 266;\n Loki leads, 268;\n tempests caused by, 288.\n\n IRAN (\u0113-r\u00e4n\u00b4). The plateau of, 9.\n\n IRIS (\u012b\u00b4ris). Compared to Gna, 280.\n\n IRMIN (\u0113r\u00b4min). Same as Odin, Heimdall, or Hermod, 36, 141, 146.\n\n IRMIN\u2019S WAY. The Milky Way, 36.\n\n IRMINSUL (\u0113r\u00b4min-so\u035dol). Destroyed by Charlemagne, 36.\n\n IRONWOOD. Iron leaves of, 167;\n wolves fed in, 265.\n\n ISLANDS. Eglimi, king of the, 237.\n\n ITALY. Golden Age in, 284.\n\n IVALD (\u0113\u00b4v\u00e4ld). Dwarf blacksmith, 66, 86;\n Idun, daughter of, 98.\n\n\n JACK AND JILL. Origin of story, 17.\n\n JACK IN THE GREEN, 42.\n\n JACK-O\u2019-LANTERNS. Elf lights, 222.\n\n JANUARY. Yule in, 121;\n Vali\u2019s month, 153.\n\n JARL (y\u00e4rl). The birth of, 143.\n\n JASON. Northern equivalents, 282, 291.\n\n JILL. The origin of Jack and, 143.\n\n JOHN THE BAPTIST, 32.\n\n JOKUL (y\u014d\u00b4ko\u035dol). Same as J\u00f6tun, 211.\n\n JONAKUR. Gudrun, wife of, 260.\n\n J\u00d6RD (y\u0113rd). Daughter of Nott, 15;\n wife of Odin, 43, 46, 61.\n\n J\u00d6TUN-HEIM (y\u0113\u00b4to\u035eon-h\u012bm). Home of giants, 12;\n Vafthrudnir inquires about, 38;\n frost comes from, 69;\n Loki\u2019s journey to, 78;\n Odin gazes at, 79;\n Thor visits Geirrod in, 80;\n Loki\u2019s progeny in, 88, 89;\n Odin goes to, 94;\n Skirnir visits, 115;\n Thor personates Freya in, 127;\n Hel born in, 166;\n Hyrrokin dwells in, 190;\n Loki goes to, 198, 199;\n Loki\u2019s home in, 200;\n giants dwell in, 210;\n Tartarus compared to, 275;\n Idun in, 283.\n\n J\u00d6TUNS. Earth in the power of the, 48;\n the origin of, 210, 211;\n Thor feared by the, 211.\n\n JOVE. Day of, in the North, 282.\n\n JOYEUSE (zhw\u00e4\u00b4y\u0113z). Charlemagne\u2019s sword, 165.\n\n JUDEA (ju-d\u0113\u00b4\u0227). Bethlehem in, 122.\n\n JUNO. Compared to Frigga, 280, 282;\n to Freya, 287.\n\n JUPITER. Odin compared to, 275, 277, 278, 279, 280;\n Amalthea, nurse of, 278;\n quarrels with Neptune, 278;\n outwitted by Juno, 280;\n Thor compared to, 281;\n secures Ganymede, 283;\n compared to Frey, 284;\n wishes to marry Thetis, 286;\n wooing of Europa, 290.\n\n JUSTICE. Compared to Forseti, 286.\n\n JUTERNAJESTA (yo\u035eo-ter-na-jest\u00b4\u0227). Senjemand loves, 212.\n\n\n KARI (k\u00e4r\u00b4\u0113). Brother of \u00c6gir, 171;\n brother of Loki, 199;\n son of Fornjotnr, 212.\n\n KARL. The birth of, 142.\n\n KERLAUG (k\u0113r\u00b4loug). Thor wades across, 62.\n\n KNEFRUD (knef\u00b4ro\u035eod). Invites Niblungs to Hungary, 257;\n death of, 258.\n\n KOBOLD. Same as dwarfs, 18, 217;\n same as elves, 223.\n\n KONUR. The birth of, 143.\n\n KOPPELBERG. Children in the, 34.\n\n KORMT. Thor crosses, 62.\n\n KVASIR (kv\u00e4\u00b4sir).\n 1. Murder of, 93;\n Odin covets mead of, 94.\n 2. Loki surprised by, 206.\n\n\n L\u00c6DING (l\u0101\u00b4ding). Chain for Fenris, 90;\n proverb concerning, 283.\n\n LAGA (l\u00e4\u00b4g\u0227). Same as Saga, 43.\n\n LAMPETIA (lam-pe-t\u012b\u00b4\u0227). Northern equivalent for flocks of, 276.\n\n LANDVIDI (l\u00e4nd-v\u0113\u00b4di). Home of Vidar, 147, 149.\n\n LANGOBARDEN. Story of, 50;\n Greek equivalent for, 280.\n\n LAUFEIA (lou-f\u012b\u00b4\u0227). Mother of Loki, 199.\n\n LAUGARDAG (lou\u00b4gar-dag). Saturday called, 209.\n\n LAURIN (lou\u00b4rin). King of the dwarfs, 218.\n\n LEIPTER (l\u012bp\u00b4ter). Sacred stream in Nifl-heim, 168.\n\n LEMNOS. Northern equivalent for forge of, 291.\n\n LERAD (l\u0101\u00b4r\u00e4d). Topmost bough of Yggdrasil, 20, 26;\n the animals upon, 20.\n\n LESSOE. Island home of \u00c6gir, 171.\n\n LETHRA (leth\u00b4r\u0227). Sacrifices offered at, 53.\n\n LIF. One of the survivors of Ragnarok, 270;\n Greek counterpart of, 290.\n\n LIFTHRASIR (lif\u00b4thr\u00e4-sir). One of the survivors of Ragnarok, 270;\n Greek counterpart, 290.\n\n LIGHT ELVES. Alf-heim, dwelling of, 112.\n\n LIOD (ly\u014dd). Same as Gna, 226.\n\n LIOS-ALFAR (ly\u014ds\u00b4-alf-ar). Same as light elves, 221.\n\n LIOS-BERI (ly\u014ds\u00b4-b\u0101-r\u0113). Month of Vali, 153.\n\n LIT, dwarf slain by Thor, 191.\n\n LODUR (l\u014d\u00b4do\u035eor). Gives blood to man, 19;\n same as Loki, 199.\n\n LOFN (l\u014dfn). Attendant of Frigga, 52.\n\n LOGI (l\u014d\u00b4g\u0113). Cook of Utgard-loki, 71;\n wild fire, 72.\n\n LOGRUM (l\u014d\u00b4grum). Lake of, 53.\n\n LOKI (l\u014d\u00b4k\u0113). God of fire, 19;\n Sif\u2019s hair stolen by, 65;\n Thor attacks, 66;\n different forms of, 66;\n wager with Brock, 67;\n flight of, 68;\n Brock sews lips of, 69;\n eating-wager of, 71;\n hammer recovered by, 76;\n marries giantess, 88;\n adventure with eagle, 101;\n called to account, 103;\n south wind is, 104;\n Skadi laughs at antics of, 109;\n the lightning is, 111;\n Brisinga-men coveted by, 127;\n falcon plumes borrowed by, 127;\n Freya urged by, 129;\n Freya accused by, 130;\n Hel, daughter of, 166;\n \u00c6gir, brother of, 171;\n Frigga questioned by, 187;\n Hodur\u2019s hand guided by, 188;\n Thok, same as, 194;\n the jealousy of, 196;\n tempter personified by, 197;\n god of fire, 198\u2013209;\n son of Fornjotnr, 212;\n visits the earth, 240;\n slays Otter, 241;\n secures hoard, 242;\n \u00c6sir tolerate, 263;\n released from bonds, 265;\n boards Nagilfar, 266;\n foes led by, 267, 268;\n death of, 269;\n Greek equivalent for Loki\u2019s theft, 281;\n comparisons, 283, 286, 289, 290.\n\n LOMBARDS. Story of the, 50.\n\n LOMBARDY. The possession of, 50.\n\n LONGBEARDS. The saga of the, 50.\n\n LORELEI (l\u014d\u00b4re-l\u012b). Story of, 179, 180;\n Greek equivalent, 288.\n\n LORRIDE (lor\u00b4ri-de). Thor\u2019s daughter, 64.\n\n LUCIFER. Loki the medi\u00e6val, 198.\n\n LYDIAN QUEEN. Northern equivalent, 281.\n\n LYGNI (l\u0113g\u00b4ni). Wars against Sigmund, 237, 238;\n Sigurd slays, 244.\n\n LYMDALE (l\u0113m\u00b4d\u0101l). Brunhild\u2019s home at, 248.\n\n LYNGVI (l\u0113ng\u00b4vi). Island where Fenris is bound, 91.\n\n\n \u201cMACBETH.\u201d The Norns in, 158.\n\n MAELSTROM (m\u0101l\u00b4strom). Millstones form the, 123.\n\n MAGDEBURG. Freya\u2019s temple at, 128.\n\n MAGNI. Thor\u2019s son, 64, 75;\n survival of, 271;\n Greek equivalent, 282.\n\n MAID MARIAN. On May day, 42.\n\n M\u00c4LAR LAKE (m\u0101\u00b4lar). Legend of its formation, 53.\n\n MANA-HEIM (man\u00b4\u0227-h\u012bm). Same as Midgard, 19;\n Greek equivalent, 276.\n\n MANAGARM. The feeding of, 265;\n Greek equivalent, 290.\n\n MANI (man\u00b4e). The moon, 14;\n his companions, 16;\n death of, 264, 265;\n equivalent, 276.\n\n MANNIGFUAL (man\u00b4ig-f\u016b-al). Ship, 214, 215;\n Greek equivalent, 290.\n\n MARAS (m\u00e4r\u00b4az). Female trolls, 220.\n\n MARDEL (m\u00e4r\u00b4del). Freya, 125.\n\n MARS. Northern equivalents, 282, 285.\n\n MARSYAS (m\u00e4r\u00b4shy\u0306-as). Compared to Vafthrudnir, 279.\n\n MAY FESTIVALS, etc., 42.\n\n MEAD. Heidrun supplies mead, 20.\n\n MECKLENBURG. Worship of Frigga in, 59.\n\n MEGIN-GI\u00d6RD (m\u0101\u00b4gin-gy\u0113rd).\n Thor\u2019s belt, 63;\n Thor tightens, 72.\n\n MELEAGER (mel-e-\u0101\u00b4jer). Nornagesta compared to, 287.\n\n MEMOR. Same as Mimir, 36.\n\n MENELAUS (men-e-l\u0101\u00b4us). Northern equivalent, 291.\n\n MENIA (men\u00b4i-a). Frodi\u2019s giantess slave, 122.\n\n MENTOR. Eckhardt compared to, 281.\n\n MERCURY. Northern equivalents, 279, 281, 282, 283.\n\n MERMAIDS. In \u00c6gir\u2019s palace, 288.\n\n MEROVEUS (mer-\u014d\u00b4ve-us). Birth of, 212;\n Greek equivalent, 290.\n\n MEROVINGIAN (mer-\u014d-vin\u00b4ji-an). Mythical descent of kings, 212.\n\n MESN\u00c9E D\u2019HELLEQUIN (m\u0101-n\u0101 del-\u0113-cang). Wild Hunt in France, 32.\n\n MIDGARD (mid\u00b4g\u00e4rd). Earth called, 13;\n man dwells in, 19;\n root of Yggdrasil in, 19;\n Bifr\u00f6st spans, 20;\n fields of, 113;\n Uller rules, 131;\n rooster of, 265.\n\n MIDGARD SNAKE. Thor attempts to lift, 73;\n Hymir fears, 175;\n Thor hooks, 176, 177;\n birth of, 199;\n rises from sea, 266;\n Thor slays, 268, 269;\n equivalent, 276;\n tempests caused by, 288.\n\n MIDNIGHT. Part of day, 17.\n\n MIDSUMMER. Balder disappears at, 133;\n night, fairy revels, 223;\n eve, festival, 197.\n\n MILKY WAY in Germany and Holland, 36, 59.\n\n MIMING (m\u0113\u00b4ming). A sword, 165.\n\n MIMIR (m\u0113\u00b4mir). Well of, 19, 92, 94, 137, 138;\n god of ocean, 171;\n son of Hler, 212;\n Odin\u2019s last talk with, 268.\n\n MINERVA. Northern equivalents, 278, 279, 285.\n\n MINOS (m\u012b\u00b4nos). Northern equivalent, 287.\n\n MI\u00d6LNIR (my\u0113l\u00b4nir). Thor\u2019s hammer, 63;\n Thor receives, 68;\n Thor gives life with, 70;\n Thor slays with, 177;\n giant slain by, 204, 211;\n dwarfs make, 68, 218;\n Midgard snake slain with, 269;\n Greek equivalent for, 281.\n\n MISTLETOE. Oath not sworn by, 184.\n\n M\u00d6DGUD (mud\u00b4go\u035eod). Warder of Gi\u00f6ll, 167, 192, 193;\n Greek equivalent, 288.\n\n MODI (m\u014d\u00b4d\u0113). Thor\u2019s son, 64;\n survival of, 271.\n\n MODIR. Heimdall visits, 143.\n\n M\u0152R\u00c6 (m\u0113\u00b4r\u0113). Compared to Norns, 278.\n\n MOERI (m\u0113\u00b4r\u0113). Thor\u2019s temple at, 82.\n\n MOKERKIALFI (m\u014d\u00b4ker-ky\u0227lf-\u0113). A clay image which Thialfi fights, 74.\n\n MORNING. Part of day, 17.\n\n MORS. Northern equivalent, 288.\n\n MOSELLE (m\u014d-zel\u00b4). Celebrations along the, 119.\n\n MOSS MAIDENS. Wild Hunt for, 31;\n Greek equivalents, 223.\n\n MOTHER NIGHT. Longest night in year, 119.\n\n M\u00dcHLBERG (m\u00fcl\u00b4berg). Battle of, 88.\n\n MUNDILFARI (mo\u035eon\u00b4dil-f\u00e4r-\u0113). Father of sun and moon drivers, 14.\n\n MUNIN (m\u016b\u00b4nin). Odin\u2019s raven, 24;\n Od-hroerir found by, 94;\n Greek equivalent, 278.\n\n MUSPELL (mo\u035dos\u00b4pel). Sons of, 266.\n\n MUSPELLS-HEIM (mo\u035eos\u00b4pels-h\u012bm). Home of fire, 10;\n sparks from, 14;\n host from, 266.\n\n MYSINGER (m\u0113\u00b4sing-er). Viking, slays Frodi, 123.\n\n\n NAGILFAR (nag\u00b4il-f\u00e4r). Launching of, 266.\n\n NAGILFARI (nag\u00b4il-f\u00e4r-i). Nott\u2019s first husband, 15.\n\n NAIN. Dwarf of death, 98.\n\n NAL. Mother of Loki, 199.\n\n NANNA (n\u00e4n\u00b4n\u0227). Forseti\u2019s mother, 134;\n Balder\u2019s wife, 182;\n death of, 190;\n accompanies Balder, 193;\n sends carpet to Frigga, 194;\n emblem of vegetation, 196;\n compared to Greek divinities, 289.\n\n NARVE (n\u00e4r\u00b4va). Son of Loki, 200;\n death of, 207.\n\n NASTROND (n\u00e4\u00b4strond). The wicked in, 169, 272;\n compared to Tartarus, 288.\n\n NECKAR (nek\u00b4kar). God and river, 178, 179, 288.\n\n NECKS. Water sprites, 178, 179.\n\n NECTAR. Compared to Northern drink, 277.\n\n NEMEAN LION (n\u0113\u00b4m\u0113-an l\u012b\u2019on). Northern equivalent, 286.\n\n NEPTUNE. Northern equivalents, 275, 278, 284, 288, 289.\n\n NEREIDES (ne-r\u0113\u00b4i-d\u0113z). Northern equivalents, 288.\n\n NEREUS (n\u0113\u00b4re-us). Ni\u00f6rd like, 284.\n\n NERTHUS (n\u0113r\u00b4thus). Same as Frigga, 59, 60;\n Ni\u00f6rd\u2019s wife, 108, 112, 124.\n\n NIBELUNGENLIED (n\u0113\u00b4be-lo\u035dong-en-l\u0113d). German epic, 225.\n\n NIBLUNGS (n\u0113\u00b4blo\u035dongz). Sigurd visits the, 250;\n Brunhild, queen, 251, 252;\n lament of, 256;\n visit Atli, 257, 258.\n\n NICK, OLD. Origin of the name of, 178.\n\n NICORS (nik\u00b4orz). Sea monsters, 178.\n\n NIDA (n\u0113\u00b4d\u0227). Home of dwarfs, 273.\n\n NIDHUG (n\u0113\u00b4dho\u035eog). Gnaws Yggdrasil, 20, 149, 169, 265;\n flies over Vigrid, 267.\n\n NIDUD (n\u0113\u00b4do\u035eod). King of Sweden, 163, 164, 165;\n comparison, 287.\n\n NIFL-HEIM (n\u012bfl\u00b4h\u012bm). Land of mist, 10;\n root of Yggdrasil, in, 19;\n Bifr\u00f6st connects, 20;\n Odin gazes into, 39;\n Hel in, 89, 166;\n Hel\u2019s bird in, 265;\n Idun in, 105;\n Uller, 133;\n horn heard in, 138;\n Odin visits, 184;\n Hermod visits, 189, 190;\n Balder in, 193;\n equivalents, 276, 283, 288, 289.\n\n NIGHT. Birth of, 15;\n horses of, 37.\n\n NI\u00d6RD (ny\u0113rd). A hostage, 22;\n god of sea, 107\u2013111, 171;\n Skadi marries, 109, 134;\n glove of, 111;\n Frey, son of, 112\u2013114;\n semi-historical, 117;\n oath sworn by, 118;\n Freya, daughter of, 124;\n Greek equivalents, 171, 285.\n\n NIP. Father of Nanna, 182.\n\n NIXIES. Dwell with \u00c6gir, water spirits, 178, 179, 288.\n\n N\u00d4AT\u00dbN (no\u035eo\u00b4\u0227-to\u035eon). Ni\u00f6rd\u2019s home, 107, 108, 109, 110.\n\n NOON. Part of day, 17.\n\n NORDRI (n\u00f4r\u00b4dr\u0113). Dwarf, supports heaven, 14.\n\n NORNAGESTA (n\u00f4rn-a-ges\u00b4t\u0227). Story of, 157, 158;\n compared to Meleager, 287.\n\n NORNS. Yggdrasil sprinkled by, 20;\n office of, 38, 154\u2013159;\n decree of, 86;\n Odin questions, 145, 148;\n Valkyrs same as, 162;\n mortals visited by, 234;\n torn web of, 267;\n Greek equivalents, 278, 286.\n\n NORSEMEN. Elves guide, 224;\n various beliefs of the, 272.\n\n NORTH SEA. Mannigfual in, 214, 290.\n\n NORVI (n\u00f4r\u00b4v\u0113). Father of Night, 15, 154;\n ancestor of Norns, 154.\n\n NORWAY. Landscape in, 9;\n Odin conquers, 43, 44;\n Thor, god in, 62\u201364;\n kings of, 111, 117;\n Maelstrom near, 123;\n Freya in, 124, 130.\n\n NOTT. Goddess of night, 15.\n\n NOVEMBER. Sacred to Uller, 132, 133.\n\n NYMPHS. Compared to elves, 277.\n\n\n OATHS. Sworn on Gungnir, 24, 279;\n on swords, 85;\n by Frey, 118;\n on boar, 120;\n by Uller, 133;\n by Leipter, 168;\n in favor of Balder, 184.\n\n OBERON (\u014d\u00b4be-ron). Fairy king, 218, 223.\n\n OBERWESEL (\u014d-ber-v\u0101\u00b4zel). Fisherman of, 180.\n\n OCEAN. Ymir\u2019s blood, 13.\n\n OCEANIDES (\u014d-s\u0113-an\u00b4i-d\u0113z). Compared to wave maidens, 288.\n\n OCEANUS (\u014d-se\u00b4\u0227-nus). Northern equivalent, 276.\n\n OD-HROERIR (od-hr\u0113\u00b4rir). Kettle of inspiration, 93;\n Odin in quest of, 103;\n compared to Helicon, 283.\n\n ODIN (\u014d\u00b4din). Birth of, 12;\n creates man, 19;\n hall of, 20;\n goat of, 20;\n brother of, 22;\n general account of, 23\u201345;\n attributes of, 24;\n mantle and spear of, 24;\n footstool of, 25;\n god of victory, 26;\n battle loved by, 28;\n the Wild Huntsman, 32;\n leader of souls, 34;\n constellation of, 36;\n one eye of, 36, 88, 92, 227, 267;\n Geirrod fostered by, 40;\n historical Odin, 40, 117, 280;\n serpents of, 45;\n statues of, 45;\n Frigga, wife of, 46;\n toast to, 46;\n return of, 48;\n Thor, son of, 61;\n present for, 66\u201368;\n Hrungnir races with, 73;\n downfall of, 268;\n Thrym-heim viewed by, 79;\n Grid, wife of, 80, 147;\n compared to Tyr, 84;\n spear of, 68, 86, 218, 235;\n disposes of Loki\u2019s progeny, 89, 166;\n discovers Od-hroerir, 94;\n Gunlod won by, 96;\n runes of, 99;\n visits earth, 101;\n Loki joins, 102;\n Loki called to account by, 103;\n gives Idum wolfskin, 105;\n sky is, 106;\n Hoenir related to, 107;\n throne of, 114;\n Freya marries, 129;\n Uller replaces, 131;\n drives Uller away, 132, 133;\n wave maidens, wives of, 137;\n Heimdall as, 141;\n Hermod, messenger of, 144;\n runic staff of, 145;\n to lose son, 146;\n prediction concerning, 149;\n Rinda courted by, 150\u2013152, 195;\n visits Norns, 156, 267;\n Valkyrs attend, 160;\n decree concerning V\u00f6lund\u2019s sword, 165;\n Balder, son of, 182, 183;\n Vala consulted by, 184\u2013186;\n cheered by Frigga, 187;\n lends Sleipnir, 189;\n whispers to Balder, 190;\n Draupnir returned to, 194;\n emblem of sky, 196;\n Loki, brother of, 198;\n trilogy, 199;\n helps peasants, 201;\n Sleipnir, horse of, 204;\n Loki surprised by, 206;\n visits giants, 211;\n Sigi, son of, 225;\n gives sword to Sigmund, 227, 233;\n Helgi approved by, 236;\n receives Sinfiotli, 237;\n Sigurd advised by, 240, 244, 245;\n visits Hreidmar, 241;\n Brunhild punished by, 248;\n comparisons between Greek divinities and, 277, 278, 279, 280, 283,\n 284, 286, 291.\n\n ODENS\u00d6 (\u014d\u00b4den-s\u0113). Founded by Odin, 43.\n\n ODUR (\u014d\u00b4do\u035dor). Freya\u2019s husband, 125;\n Freya finds, 126;\n Freya\u2019s search for, 127;\n sunshine is, 129;\n equivalents, 279, 285.\n\n \u0152NONE (\u0113-n\u014d\u00b4ne). Compared to Brunhild, 292.\n\n \u0152TA (\u0113\u00b4t\u0227). Northern equivalent for pyre on, 289.\n\n OKOLNUR (o-kol\u00b4no\u035dor). Giants dwell in, 273.\n\n OLAF (\u014d\u00b4l\u00e4f). Destroys statues, 45, 82, 83, 118;\n Yule changed by, 121;\n Nornagesta visits, 158, 287;\n giants in days of, 212.\n\n OLAF, SIR. Captured by fairies, 222.\n\n OLD NICK. Origin of name, 178.\n\n OLDENBURG. Drinking horn, 214.\n\n OLLER. Same as Uller, 131.\n\n OLRUN (ol\u00b4ro\u035eon). Marries mortal, 163.\n\n OLYMPUS (o-lim\u00b4pus). Northern equivalents, 276, 277, 278, 287.\n\n OMENS. Wolves are good, 24.\n\n OMPHALE (om\u00b4fa-l\u0113). Northern equivalent for, 281.\n\n OREADES (o-r\u0113\u00b4a-dez). Compared to Northern divinities, 277.\n\n ORGELMIR (\u00f4r-gel\u00b4mir). Ice and fire giant, 11.\n\n ORION (o-r\u012b\u00b4on). Northern equivalents for, 47, 284, 286.\n\n ORLOG (\u00f4r\u00b4log). Irrevocable decrees of, 155, 186;\n equivalent, 278.\n\n ORMT. Thor wades across, 62.\n\n ORPHEUS (\u00f4r\u00b4f\u016bs). Northern equivalents, 280, 283, 289, 292.\n\n ORVANDIL (\u00f4r-van\u00b4dil). Thor brings home, 76;\n equivalent, 282.\n\n OSTARA (os\u00b4t\u00e4-r\u0227). E\u00e1stre, 57.\n\n OTTAR. Freya helps, 128, 129.\n\n OTTER. Slain by Loki, 241.\n\n OXFORD. Yule at, 119.\n\n\n PADERBORN (p\u00e4\u00b4der-born). Irminsul near, 36.\n\n PARIS. Northern equivalent, 290, 292.\n\n PEACE FRODI. Story of, 122.\n\n PEACE STEADS. Of the gods, 18, 189.\n\n PEGASUS (peg\u00b4\u0227-sus). Blodug-hofi compared to, 284.\n\n PELIAS (p\u0113\u00b4li-as). Northern equivalent, 282.\n\n PENEUS (pe-n\u0113\u00b4us). Northern equivalent, 288.\n\n PENTECOST. Princess Ilse appeared at, 215.\n\n PENTLAND FIRTH. Whirlpool in, 123.\n\n PERSEUS (per\u00b4s\u016bs). Northern equivalent, 287, 291.\n\n PHAETHUSA (f\u0101-e-th\u016b\u00b4sa). Northern equivalent, 276.\n\n PHAETON (f\u0101\u00b4e-ton). Northern equivalent, 285.\n\n PHILEMON (fi-l\u0113\u00b4mon). Northern equivalent, 279.\n\n PHILOCTETES (fil-ok-t\u0113\u00b4tez). Northern equivalent for arrows of, 291.\n\n PH\u0152BE (f\u0113\u00b4be). Equivalent, 276.\n\n PH\u0152BUS (f\u0113\u00b4bus). Equivalent, 276.\n\n PH\u0152NICIAN (f\u0113-nish\u00b4an). Dwarfs compared to miners, 220.\n\n PIED PIPER. Story of, 33, 34;\n Greek equivalent, 280.\n\n PLUTO. Northern equivalents, 275, 277, 281.\n\n POLLUX (pol\u00b4uks). Northern equivalent, 292.\n\n PRIAM (pr\u012b\u00b4am). Compared to Odin, 290.\n\n PROCRIS (pr\u014d\u00b4kris). Northern equivalent, 277.\n\n PROMETHEUS (pr\u014d-m\u0113\u00b4th\u016bs). Northern equivalent, 278, 289.\n\n PROSERPINE (pros\u00b4er-pin). Northern equivalents for, 279, 281, 282,\n 283, 289.\n\n PROTEUS (pr\u014d\u00b4t\u016bs). Northern equivalent, 286.\n\n PSYCHOPOMPUS (s\u012b-ko-p\u014fm\u00b4pus). Compared to Odin, 280.\n\n PUCKS. Same as dwarfs, 217.\n\n PYRRHA (pir\u00b4\u0227). Northern equivalent, 290.\n\n PYRRHUS (pir\u00b4us). Northern equivalent, 290.\n\n PYTHON (p\u012b\u00b4thon). Compared to Fafnir, 291.\n\n\n QUICKBORN. Magic fountain of, 57.\n\n\n RAGING HOST. Same as Wild Hunt, 30, 32.\n\n RAGNAR LODBROG (r\u0227g\u00b4nar l\u014fd\u2019brog). Aslaug marries, 249.\n\n RAGNAROK (r\u0227g\u00b4n\u0227-r\u016dk). Heimdall to announce, 21;\n murder, precursor of, 204;\n recruits for battle at, 236;\n the tragedy of, 270;\n comparisons, 273, 290;\n Fenris dies at, 286.\n\n RAN. Wife of \u00c6gir, 172, 178;\n sister of Loki, 199;\n Loki makes a net like, 206;\n Loki borrows net of, 242;\n compared to Amphitrite, 288.\n\n RANDWER. The death of, 260.\n\n RAT TOWER. In the Rhine, 35.\n\n RATATOSK (r\u00e4\u00b4t\u0227-tusk). Squirrel, telltale, 20;\n equivalent, 278.\n\n RATI (r\u00e4\u00b4t\u0113). Odin\u2019s auger, 95.\n\n REGIN (r\u0101\u00b4gin). Sigurd educated by, 239;\n the story of, 240\u2013243;\n Sigurd to slay Fafnir for, 243;\n sword forged by, 244;\n demands satisfaction, 245;\n death of, 246.\n\n REINE P\u00c9DAUQUE (r\u0101n pe-d\u014dk\u00b4). Frigga same as, 59.\n\n RENOWN. Compared to Heimdall, 286.\n\n RERIR (r\u0101\u00b4rir). Son of Odin, receives apple, 51, 52, 226;\n Greek equivalent for story of, 261.\n\n RESURRECTION. Word whispered by Odin, 38, 190.\n\n RHINE. Tower in the, 35;\n gold of the, 164, 225;\n divinity of the, 179, 288;\n Lorelei in the, 179\u201381;\n Brunhild and Gudrun bathe in the, 253;\n hoard sunk in the, 257.\n\n RIESENGEBIRGE (r\u0113\u00b4zen-ge-b\u0113r-ge). Giant mountains, 211, 290.\n\n RIGER (r\u0113\u00b4ger). Heimdall visits earth as, 141.\n\n RINDA (rin\u00b4d\u0227). Wife of Odin, 43, 195;\n prophecy concerning, 146, 185;\n Odin courts, 150, 195;\n Greek equivalents, 277, 286.\n\n RINGHORN. Balder\u2019s pyre on, 190, 191;\n Greek equivalent, 289.\n\n RODENSTEIN (r\u014d\u00b4den-st\u012bn). Wild Hunt led by, 31, 32.\n\n ROMANS. \u00c6sir driven from Asia Minor by, 43;\n Vitellius, prefect, 86;\n Christianity, 224.\n\n ROME. Tannh\u00e4user visits, 56;\n Vitellius, emperor of, 86.\n\n ROSKVA (ros\u00b4kv\u0227). Thor\u2019s servant, 70.\n\n ROSSTHIOF (ros\u00b4th\u0113f). The prophecy of, 145, 150, 152, 185;\n compared, 286.\n\n ROSTERUS (ros\u00b4ter-us). Odin as smith, 151.\n\n R\u00dcGEN (r\u0113\u00b4gen). Nerthus\u2019s worship on island of, 59.\n\n RUNES (ro\u035eonz). Odin masters and uses, 39, 94, 182, 185.\n\n RUSSIA. \u00c6sir migrate to, 43;\n name for, 146.\n\n RUTHENES. Odin visits the land of the, 146, 150.\n\n\n S\u00c6HRIMNIR (s\u0101\u00b4hrim-nir). Boar in Valhalla, 27.\n\n S\u00c6MING (s\u0101\u00b4ming). King of Norway, 44, 111.\n\n S\u00c6MUND (s\u0101\u00b4mo\u035eond). Compiler of Elder Edda, 224.\n\n SAGA (s\u00e4\u00b4g\u00e4).\n 1. Wife of Odin, 43, 279.\n 2. Records called, 10, 87, 262, 272.\n\n SAGITTARIUS. Northern equivalent, 132.\n\n ST. GERTRUDE. Belief in, 130.\n\n ST. GOAR. Lorelei at, 179.\n\n ST. HUBERT. Uller is, 132.\n\n ST. JOHN\u2019S DAY. Celebrations, 197.\n\n ST. MICHAEL. Bears Cheru\u2019s sword, 88.\n\n ST. VALENTINE. Replaces Vali, 153.\n\n SARPEDON (s\u00e4r-p\u0113\u00b4don). Northern equivalent, 290.\n\n SATAERE (s\u0101t\u00b4\u0101-re). God of agriculture, 209.\n\n SATAN. Same as Loki, 209.\n\n SATURDAY. Sacred to Loki, 209.\n\n SATURN. Equivalent, 209, 284.\n\n SAXNOT. God of Saxons, 86;\n Frey like, 112.\n\n SAXON. Irmin, a god, 36;\n Hengist and Horsa, 44;\n E\u00e1stre, goddess, 57.\n\n SAXONY. Conquered by Odin, 44.\n\n SCALDS. Edda the work of, 10.\n\n SCANDINAVIA. Worship in, 60, 108, 121, 223, 224;\n fairies in, 222.\n\n SCANDINAVIANS. Belief of the, 132, 147, 211, 212;\n epic of the, 225;\n topographical belief of the, 211.\n\n SCHWARTZE SEE (shv\u00e4rt\u00b4se s\u0101). Nerthus\u2019s car bathed in the, 60.\n\n SCOURGE OF GOD. Attila the, 87, 262.\n\n SCYLLA (sil\u00b4\u00e4). Northern equivalent, 283.\n\n SEASONS. The division of the, 17.\n\n SEELAND. Gefjon plows, 53, 280.\n\n SENJEMAND (sen\u00b4je-m\u00e4nd). Story of giant, 212, 213.\n\n SENJEN. Island of, 212, 213.\n\n SESSRYMNIR (ses\u00b4rim-nir). Freya\u2019s home is, 124.\n\n SHAKESPEARE. Norns used by, 158.\n\n SIBICH (s\u0113\u00b4bikh). The traitor, 260.\n\n \u201cSIEGFRIED\u201d (s\u0113g\u00b4fr\u0113d). Wagner\u2019s opera of, 225.\n\n SIF. Wife of Thor, 64;\n hair stolen, 65\u201368, 199;\n Uller, son of, 131;\n Loki slanders, 205, 206;\n dwarfs make hair, 218;\n comparisons, 281, 282.\n\n SIGGEIR (sig\u00b4\u012br). Marriage feast of, 226\u2013228;\n treachery and death of, 228, 230, 233.\n\n SIGI (sig\u00b4\u0113). Son of Odin, 44, 225;\n comparison, 261.\n\n SIGMUND (sig\u00b4mo\u035dond). V\u00f6lund\u2019s sword for, 165;\n brother of Signy, 227;\n sword won by, 228;\n a prisoner, 229;\n the vow of, 230;\n tests Signy\u2019s sons, 231;\n a werewolf, 232;\n prisoner of Siggeir, 233;\n escape and vengeance of, 234;\n the son of, 236;\n Hiordis, wife of, 237;\n death of, 238;\n Sigurd, son of, 239;\n the sword of, 244;\n comparisons, 261, 291.\n\n SIGNY (sig\u00b4ni). Volsung\u2019s daughter, 226\u2013229;\n vengeance of, 230\u2013234.\n\n SIGTUNA (sig-t\u016b\u00b4n\u0227). Odin founds, 43.\n\n SIGURD (s\u0113\u00b4go\u035eord). Brunhild to marry, 165;\n story of, 225;\n birth of, 239;\n Grani selected by, 240;\n Regin speaks to, 243;\n sword of, 244;\n slays Fafnir, 245;\n rides through flames, 247;\n betrothal of, 248;\n marriage of, 249;\n Gudrun gives potion to, 250;\n Gudrun, wife of, 251;\n wooes Brunhild for Gunnar, 252;\n awakening of, 253;\n death of, 254\u2013256;\n funeral pyre of, 255;\n Gudrun mourns, 257;\n Atli slain with sword of, 260;\n a sun myth, 261;\n Greek equivalents, 287, 291, 292.\n\n SIGYN (s\u0113\u00b4g\u0113n). Loki\u2019s faithful wife, 200, 207.\n\n SINDRI (sin\u00b4dr\u0113). Dwarf, smith, 67, 68;\n king of dwarfs, 273.\n\n SINDUR (sin\u00b4do\u035dor). A wave maiden, 137.\n\n SINFIOTLI (sin-fe-ot\u00b4li). Birth and education of, 231;\n Signy aids, 233;\n vengeance of, 234;\n career and death of, 235, 236.\n\n SIR OLAF. Fairies beguile, 222.\n\n SIRENS. Compared to Lorelei, 288.\n\n SIRIUS (sir\u00b4i-us). Northern equivalent, 284.\n\n SKADI (sk\u00e4\u00b4d\u0113). Wife of Odin, 43;\n in Asgard, 108, 109;\n wife of Ni\u00f6rd, 112, 124;\n wife of Uller, 132;\n punishes Loki, 207;\n comparison, 284.\n\n SKIALF (sky\u0227lf). Same as Freya, 125.\n\n SKIDBLADNIR (skid-bl\u00e4d\u00b4nir). Dvalin makes, 66, 218;\n properties of, 66;\n Frey owns, 68, 113;\n comparison, 282.\n\n SKIN-FAXI. Steed of Day, 15.\n\n SKIOLD (sh\u014dld). King of Denmark, 44, 53.\n\n SKIOLDINGS (sh\u014dld\u00b4ings). Descendants of, 53, 279.\n\n SKIRNIR (sk\u0113r\u00b4nir). Servant of Frey, 90, 114, 117;\n journey of, 114, 115, 285.\n\n SK\u00d6LL (skul). Wolf pursuing sun and moon, 16, 265, 290.\n\n SKRYMIR (skrim\u00b4ir). Thor\u2019s encounter with, 71, 72.\n\n SKRYMSLI (skrims\u00b4l\u0113). The story of giant, 201.\n\n SKULD (sko\u035eold). One of the Norns called, 154, 155, 157, 159, 162.\n\n SLAGFINN. Marries a Valkyr, 163.\n\n SLEEPING BEAUTY. Origin of myth, 158.\n\n SLEIPNIR (sl\u012bp\u00b4nir). Odin\u2019s steed, 29, 39, 73, 75, 184, 268;\n Hermod rides, 145, 189, 193;\n Loki, parent of, 204, 290;\n Grani, son of, 240.\n\n SLID (sl\u0113d). Stream in Nifl-heim, 168.\n\n SNOR. Wife of Karl, 142.\n\n SNORRO-STURLESON (snor\u00b4r\u014d-sto\u035eor\u00b4-l\u0101-sun). Author of \u201cHeimskringla,\u201d\n 117.\n\n SNOTRA (sn\u014d\u00b4tr\u0227). Goddess of virtue, 53.\n\n SOKVABEK (so-kv\u00e4\u00b4bek). Home of Saga, 43;\n comparison, 279.\n\n SOL. The sun maid, 14, 264;\n death of, 265, 270;\n compared, 276.\n\n SOMNUS. Northern equivalent for servants of, 291.\n\n SON (s\u014fn). Bowl of expiation, 93.\n\n S\u00d6RLI (s\u0113r\u00b4li). Son of Gudrun, 260, 261;\n compared, 292.\n\n SPARTAN KING. Equivalent, 291.\n\n STEROPES. Northern equivalent, 284.\n\n STRAW DEATH. Northern contempt for, 168.\n\n STROMKARLS. Water divinities, 178, 179.\n\n SUABIANS (sw\u0101\u00b4bi-\u0227nz). Tyr, a god of the, 84.\n\n SUDRI (s\u016b\u00b4dr\u0113). Supports heavenly vault, 14.\n\n SURTR (so\u035eortr). Flame giant, 10;\n progeny, 15;\n world destroyed by, 21;\n arrival of, 267, 268;\n Frey slain by, 269;\n world consumed by, 270.\n\n SUTTUNG (so\u035dot\u00b4to\u035eong). The story of giant, 94, 95, 97.\n\n SVADILFARE (sv\u00e4\u00b4dil-f\u00e4r-e). Horse of architect, 202, 203.\n\n SVALIN (sv\u00e4\u00b4lin). Shield tempered sun rays, 14.\n\n SVANHVIT (svon\u00b4whit). Marries mortal, 163.\n\n SVART-ALFA-HEIM (sv\u00e4rt-alf\u00b4a-h\u012bm). Home of dwarfs, 18, 66, 90, 113,\n 127, 220.\n\n SVART-ALFAR (sv\u00e4rt-alf\u00b4ar), 217.\n\n SVASUD (sv\u00e4\u00b4zood). Father of Summer, 17.\n\n SWANHILD (swon\u00b4hild). Daughter of Gudrun, 256, 257, 260;\n compared, 292.\n\n SWEDEN. Landscapes of, 9;\n May-day in, 42;\n Odin conquers, 43, 44;\n Gylfi, king of, 44, 52;\n Thor in, 64;\n Frey, king of, 122;\n Frodi visits, 122;\n Freya in, 124, 130;\n Nidud, king of, 163;\n miners in, 220.\n\n SWITZERLAND. Giants in, 211.\n\n SWORD DANCES, 84, 85.\n\n SYN (s\u0113n). Goddess of truth, 52.\n\n SYR (sir). Same as Freya, 125.\n\n\n TANNGNIOSTR (t\u00e4ng\u00b4nyos-ter). Thor\u2019s goat, 64.\n\n TANNGRISNR (t\u00e4n\u00b4gris-ner). Thor\u2019s goat, 64.\n\n TANNH\u00c4USER (t\u00e4n\u00b4hoi-zer). Story of, 56, 57;\n equivalent for, 281.\n\n TARNKAPPE (t\u00e4rn\u00b4kap-pe). Invisible cap, 218.\n\n TARTARUS (t\u00e4r\u00b4tar-us). Northern equivalents, 275, 283, 288.\n\n TELEMACHUS (te-lem\u00b4a-kus). Northern equivalent, 281.\n\n TEUTON (t\u016b\u00b4ton). Ostara, a goddess, 58.\n\n TEUTONIC GODS, 209, 211.\n\n THANATOS (than\u00b4a-tos). Same as Hel, 288.\n\n THESEUS (th\u0113\u00b4s\u016bs). Northern equivalent, 291, 292.\n\n THETIS (th\u0113\u00b4tis). Northern equivalent for, 286.\n\n THIALFI (te-\u00e4lf\u00b4e). Servant of, 69, 70, 72, 80;\n duel of, 74, 75;\n Egil\u2019s son, 174.\n\n THIASSI (te-\u00e4s\u00b4se). Loki\u2019s adventure with, 101;\n Idun kidnapped, 102, 103, 104, 107\u2013109, 199, 283;\n Loki pursued by, 104, 108;\n Gerda, relative of, 114;\n the eyes of, 283, 284.\n\n THING (ting). Northern popular assembly, 30, 128, 129.\n\n THOK (tok). Loki as, 194, 196, 204;\n comparison, 289.\n\n THOR (th\u00f4r or t\u00f4r). Never crosses Bifr\u00f6st, 21;\n J\u00f6rd, mother of, 43;\n toast to, 46;\n god of thunder, 61\u201383;\n infancy of, 61;\n anger of, 61, 65;\n description of, 62;\n hat of, 64;\n Alvis petrified by, 65;\n Mi\u00f6lnir given to, 68;\n drinking wager of, 72;\n duel with Hrungnir, 74;\n adventure with Geirrod, 80;\n temples and statues of, 82;\n Tyr like, 84;\n giants hated by, 113, 211;\n Yule sacred to, 118;\n Brisinga-men worn by, 127;\n Uller, stepson of, 131;\n Grid\u2019s gauntlet helps, 148;\n kettle secured by, 174;\n goes fishing, 175, 176, 177;\n consecrates Balder\u2019s pyre, 191;\n visits Utgard-loki, 198;\n slays architect, 204;\n threatens Loki, 206;\n slays Midgard snake, 269;\n sons of, 271;\n Greek equivalents, 281, 282, 290.\n\n THORA (t\u014d\u00b4r\u0227). Wife of Elf, daughter of Hakon, 256.\n\n THORBURN. Origin of name, 81.\n\n THORN OF SLEEP. Brunhild stung by, 248.\n\n THORWALDSEN (t\u00f4r\u00b4wald-sn). Origin of name, 81.\n\n THRALL. Birth of, 141, 142.\n\n THRIDI (tr\u0113\u00b4d\u0113). One of the trilogy, 44.\n\n THRONDHJEIM (tr\u014dnd\u00b4yem). Temple of Frey at, 118.\n\n THRUD (tro\u035eod). Thor\u2019s daughter, 64, 65.\n\n THRUDGELMIR (tro\u035eod-gel\u00b4mir). Birth of giant, 12.\n\n THRUD-HEIM (tro\u035eod\u00b4h\u012bm). Thor\u2019s realm, 61.\n\n THRUNG (tro\u035eong). Freya, 125.\n\n THRYM (trim). Thor visits, 77, 78, 281, 282;\n Freya refuses, 129;\n son of Kari, 212.\n\n THRYM-HEIM (trim\u00b4h\u012bm). Home of Thiassi, 102;\n Loki visits, 103, 104.\n\n THUNDERER. Same as Odin, 277.\n\n THUNDERHILL. Named after Thor, 81.\n\n THURINGIA (th\u016b-rin\u00b4ji-\u0227). H\u00f6rselberg in, 56;\n giants in, 215.\n\n THURSDAY. Sacred to Thor, 82, 282.\n\n THURSES (to\u035eors\u00b4ez). Giants called, 210.\n\n THVERA (tv\u0101\u00b4r\u0227). Temple of Frey at, 118.\n\n THVITI (tv\u0113\u00b4ti). Bowlder where Fenris is bound, 92.\n\n THYR (tir or t\u0113r). Wife of Thrall, 141.\n\n TITANIA. Queen of fairies, 223.\n\n TITANS. Northern equivalents for, 275, 283, 290.\n\n TITYUS (tit\u00b4i-us). Northern equivalent, 289.\n\n TIU (t\u016b). Same as Tyr, 84, 282.\n\n TOASTS. To Odin, 45;\n to Frigga, 46;\n to Bragi, 99;\n to Ni\u00f6rd and Frey, 111;\n to Freya, 130.\n\n TORGE (t\u00f4r\u00b4ge). Story of giant, 213.\n\n TORGHATTEN (torg-hat\u00b4ten). Mountain, 213.\n\n TREE MAIDENS. Elves same as, 223.\n\n TRENT. Superstition along the, 173.\n\n TROLLS. Dwarfs known as, 18, 213, 217, 220, 291.\n\n TROY. Northern equivalent for siege of, 280.\n\n T\u00dcBINGEN (t\u0113\u00b4bing-en). Worship of Tyr in, 92.\n\n TUESDAY. Tyr\u2019s day, 84.\n\n TWELFTH-NIGHT. Wild Hunt at, 31;\n festival, 59.\n\n TWILIGHT OF THE GODS, 263, 273.\n\n TYR (t\u0113r). Son of Frigga, 43;\n god of war, 84\u201392;\n one arm, 88, 267;\n feeds Fenris, 89;\n like Frey, 112;\n like Irmin, 144;\n chains Fenris, 166;\n accompanies Thor, 174\u2013177;\n fights Garm, 268;\n death of, 269.\n\n TYRFING (t\u0113r\u00b4fing). Magic sword, 219.\n\n TYROL (t\u012dr\u00b4ul). Story of flax in, 54.\n\n TYR\u2019S HELM. Aconite called, 92.\n\n\n ULFRUN (o\u035dol\u00b4froon). A wave maiden, 137.\n\n ULLER (o\u035dol\u00b4er). Skadi marries, 111;\n winter-god, 131\u2013133;\n equivalents, 286.\n\n ULYSSES (\u016b-lis\u00b4sez). Compared to Tannh\u00e4user, 281.\n\n UNDINES (un\u00b4d\u0113nz). Female water divinities, 178, 179, 288.\n\n UPSALA (up-s\u00e4\u00b4l\u0227). Temple at, 44, 82, 280;\n Ingvi-Frey at, 117;\n mound at, 284.\n\n URD (o\u035dord). One of the Norns, 154, 155.\n\n URDAR (o\u035dord\u00b4ar). Fountain, 19, 20, 21, 62, 148, 154, 155, 186, 268.\n\n UTGARD (o\u035dot\u00b4gard). Realm of, 71, 72.\n\n UTGARD-LOKI. Castle of, 71, 72, 73;\n evil, 198;\n Thor visits, 198.\n\n\n VAFTHRUDNIR (v\u00e4f-tro\u035eod\u00b4nir). Odin\u2019s visit to, 37, 211, 279;\n fulfillment of prediction, 266.\n\n VAK (v\u00e4k). Odin as, 151.\n\n VALA (v\u00e4\u00b4l\u0227). Druidess, 86;\n grave of, 185.\n\n VALAS. Norns called, 158;\n Odin consults, 184.\n\n VALASKIALF (v\u00e4\u00b4la-sky\u0227lf). Hall in Asgard, 25;\n Vali in, 153.\n\n VALENTINE. Vali as St., 153.\n\n VALFATHER. Same as Odin, 26, 160.\n\n VALFREYA. Same as Freya, 124.\n\n VALHALLA (v\u00e4l-h\u00e4l\u00b4l\u0227). Description of, 25\u201328, 38;\n masters of, 62;\n Hrungnir enters, 73;\n Tyr welcomed to, 84;\n Tyr\u2019s warriors in, 88;\n Bragi, bard of, 99;\n heroes in, 141, 145, 235;\n Vidar visits, 148;\n Valkyrs choose guests for, 160, 162;\n Ran\u2019s hall rivals, 172;\n mistletoe near, 184, 188;\n Helgi promised, 234, 235;\n Gudrun returns to, 236;\n Fialar above, 265;\n host of, 268.\n\n VALI (v\u00e4\u00b4l\u0113). Emblem of spring, 43.\n 1. The avenger, 150\u2013153, 186;\n slays Hodur, 195;\n survival of, 271.\n 2. Son of Loki, 200, 207.\n\n VALKYRS (val\u00b4kirz). Attendants of Odin, 26;\n of the heroes, 26, 28;\n of Tyr, 88;\n led by Freya, 124;\n accompany Hermod, 145;\n Skuld a, 159;\n general account of, 160\u2013165;\n Helgi marries a, 235;\n Gudrun a, 236;\n Brunhild a, 248;\n Freya a, 285;\n Hebe compared to the, 287.\n\n VALPURGISNACHT (v\u00e4l-po\u035eor\u00b4g\u0113s-n\u00e4hkt). Witches\u2019 dance on, 130, 159.\n\n VALTAM (v\u00e4l\u00b4tam). Vegtam, son of, 185.\n\n VAN. Ni\u00f6rd a, 22, 284.\n\n VANA-HEIM. Home of the Vanas, 21, 22, 107, 112, 124.\n\n VANABRIDE. Freya, 124.\n\n VANADIS (v\u0103n\u00b4\u0227-dis). Freya, 124.\n\n VANAS. Sea and wind gods, 21, 112, 124, 139, 171;\n quarrel between the \u00c6sir and the, 93, 107;\n comparisons, 271, 278.\n\n VANDALS. Story of Winilers and, 49, 280.\n\n VARA (v\u00e4\u00b4r\u0227). Oath keeper, 53.\n\n VASUD (v\u00e4\u00b4so\u035eod). Father of Vindsual, 17.\n\n VE (v\u0101). Creation of, 12, 19, 278;\n replaces Odin, 42, 132;\n equivalent, 275.\n\n VECHA (vech\u00b4\u0227). Odin as, 151.\n\n VEDFOLNIR (ved-fol\u00b4nir). Falcon, reporter, 20.\n\n VEGTAM (veg\u00b4tam). Odin, 185.\n\n VEIMER (v\u012b\u00b4mer). Thor fords, 80, 282.\n\n VELEDA. Warns Drusus, 159.\n\n VENEUR DE FONTAINEBLEAU (v\u0113n-ur duh f\u014dn-t\u0101n-bl\u014d\u00b4). Wild Huntsman, 32.\n\n VENUS. Northern equivalents for, 279, 282, 285, 291.\n\n VERDANDI (v\u0113r-d\u00e4n\u00b4d\u0113). Norn of present, 154;\n beneficent ways of, 155.\n\n VESPASIAN (ves-p\u0101\u00b4shan). Election of, 87.\n\n VIDAR (v\u0113\u00b4d\u00e4r). Parents of, 43;\n story of, 147\u2013149;\n slays Fenris, 269;\n the survival of, 153, 271;\n comparisons, 286, 290.\n\n VIENNA. Customs in, 120, 121.\n\n VIGRID (vig\u00b4rid). Last battle on plain of, 38, 208, 266, 268, 271.\n\n VIKINGS (v\u012b\u00b4kingz). Valkyrs take, 161.\n\n VILI (v\u0113\u00b4l\u0113). Creation, 12, 19, 278;\n replaces Odin, 42, 132;\n comparison, 275.\n\n VINDSUAL (vind\u00b4su-al). Father of Winter, 17.\n\n VINGNIR (ving\u00b4nir). Foster father of Thor, 61.\n\n VINGOLF (ving\u00b4golf). Tyr welcome in, 84.\n\n VINGTHOR (ving\u00b4t\u00f4r). Same as Thor, 61.\n\n VINLAND. Norse settlement in, 224.\n\n VIRGIN. Sponge called hand of, 111;\n health of, 130.\n\n VITELLIUS. Has Cheru\u2019s sword, 86, 87.\n\n VJOFN (vyofn). Goddess of concord, 52.\n\n VOLLA. Same as Fulla, 50, 51.\n\n VOLSUNG (vol\u00b4so\u035dong). Saga of, 225, 292;\n birth of, 52, 226;\n career and death of, 225\u2013230;\n descendants of, 231, 235, 238, 261.\n\n V\u00d6LUND (v\u0113l-oond). Story of the smith, 163\u2013165, 287.\n\n V\u00d6LUNDARHAUS (v\u0113l\u00b4oond-ar-hous\u2019). Maze, 164;\n compared to Cretan labyrinth, 287.\n\n VON. River from Fenris\u2019s mouth, 92.\n\n V\u00d6R (v\u0113r). Same as Faith, 53.\n\n VROU-ELDE (vrou-eld\u00b4e). Same as Frigga, 59.\n\n VROU-ELDEN-STRAAT. Milky Way in Holland, 59.\n\n VULCAN. Northern equivalents for, 277, 285, 287, 291.\n\n VULDER (vo\u035dol\u00b4der). Same as Uller, 132.\n\n\n WAGNER. Four operas from Volsunga Saga, 225.\n\n WAIN. Same as Great Bear, 36.\n\n WANDERER. Same as Odin, 37.\n\n WAVES. \u00c6gir\u2019s daughters, 173, 288.\n\n WEDNESDAY. Sacred to Odin, 45.\n\n WELDEGG. King of East Saxony, 44.\n\n WEREWOLF. Sigmund a, 232.\n\n WESER (v\u0101\u00b4zer). Rats drowned in, 33.\n\n WEST SAXONY. Conquered by Odin, 44.\n\n WESTERBURG. Ilse loves knight of the, 215.\n\n WESTRI (wes\u00b4tr\u0113). Dwarf supporting heavenly vault, 14.\n\n WHITE LADY. Last appearance of, 58, 59.\n\n WILD HUNT. Leaders of, 30, 32, 59, 132.\n\n WILD HUNTSMAN, 30, 32.\n\n WILL-O\u2019-THE-WISP. Medi\u00e6val superstition concerning, 222.\n\n WIND. Waves play with, 173.\n\n WINGI (wing\u00b4\u0113). Same as Knefrud, 257.\n\n WINILERS (win\u00b4i-lerz). Story of Vandals and, 49, 280.\n\n WINTER. Odin supplanted by, 42.\n\n WODE (w\u014d\u00b4da). Same as Frigga, 59.\n\n WODEN. Same as Odin, 23, 30, 45.\n\n WODEN\u2019S DAY. Same as Wednesday, 45.\n\n WOOD MAIDENS. Elves known as, 223.\n\n WUOTAN (w\u014d\u00b4tan). Same as Odin, 23, 59.\n\n WURD (wo\u035dord). Same as Urd, 155.\n\n WYRD (w\u0113rd). Mother of Norns, 148, 149.\n\n\n YDALIR (\u0113-d\u00e4l\u00b4ir). Abode of Uller, 131.\n\n YGGDRASIL (ig\u00b4dr\u0227-sil). Creation of, 19;\n stags pasture on, 20;\n assembly under, 21;\n spear from, 37;\n Odin hangs from, 39;\n Thor goes to, 62;\n Idun falls from, 105;\n Bifr\u00f6st reaches to, 137;\n Giallar-horn hung on, 138;\n Norns dwell under, 154;\n Nidhug eats, 169, 265;\n consumed, 269;\n comparison, 283.\n\n YMIR (\u0113\u00b4mir). Giant of fire and ice, 11;\n sleep of, 12;\n death of, 12, 210;\n earth created from, 13;\n dwarfs from, 17, 217, 277;\n Fornjotnr same as, 199, 212;\n comparisons, 275, 277.\n\n YOUNGER EDDA. Gylfi\u2019s delusion described in the, 44.\n\n YULE. Month and festival of, 118, 119.\n\n YULE LOG, 121.\n\n YULE-TIDE, 82, 99.\n\n\n ZEPHYRUS (zef\u00b4i-rus). Frey like, 284.\n\n ZEUS (z\u016bs). Northern equivalents for, 280.\n\n ZIU (z\u016b). Same as Tyr, 84.\n\n ZIUSBURG (z\u016bz\u00b4berg). Same as Augsburg, 84.\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes\n\n\nPunctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a\npredominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they\nwere not changed.\n\nSimple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation\nmarks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left\nunbalanced.\n\nIllustrations in this eBook have been positioned between paragraphs\nand outside quotations. In versions of this eBook that support\nhyperlinks, the page references in the List of Illustrations lead to\nthe corresponding illustrations.\n\nPrinter\u2019s placement designations omitted from illustrations.\n\nThe index was not checked for proper alphabetization or correct page\nreferences.\n\nIn the Plain Text version of this ebook, o\u035eo indicates a macron above\noo, o\u035do indicates a breve above oo, and y\u0306 indicates a breve above\ny. These diacritics displayed directly above the oo\u2019s and the y in\nBrowsers, as they did in the original book.","title":"Myths of northern lands : $b Narrated with special reference to literature and art","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":99691}