IVAR’S BIRTH AND LIFE FORECAST
ABOUT fourteen months after the return of Hjorvard from Upsalir, towards
the year 275, a great event took place at Dampstadir, which filled the
hearts of Hjorvard and Sigrlin with joy. The sacrifice which Hjorvard
had made to the gods in Upsalir to stop the sterility of his wife had
been accepted, and Sigrlin gave birth to a son. While this happened,
Hjorvard was in the great banqueting hall, entertaining some of his
kinsmen who had come to see him, and was then listening to a poet who
was singing the heroic deeds of the ancestors of the race. Messengers
were sent to him to apprise him of his good fortune.
Present at the birth of the child were Oddrun, the married sister of
Hjorvard, and several other high-born women, and others who lived at or
near Dampstadir, and also the female servants; for it was the law of the
land that women had to be witnesses of the birth of a child, and none of
those who were present could leave the place until they had seen the
babe on the breast of his mother. According to custom, the infant was
laid on the floor to wait for the arrival of his father.
After Hjorvard had entered the room, the new-born child was put into his
lap, and he covered him with the folds of one of the corners of his
cloak; doing this he acknowledged the legitimacy of his offspring. Then
he looked at his child intently, to judge of his appearance,
proportions, luck, and temper. After a thoughtful examination, and
satisfying himself that the new-born offspring was well-shaped, he
decided that he should live and not be exposed. This custom was similar
to that of the Spartans—the father was the only judge to decide if the
new-born babe was to live or not.
Then took place the most important and sacred ceremony of “name
fastening,” equivalent to baptism, or pouring or sprinkling water upon
the child, a holy custom which had come down from the remotest time, and
was lost in the mist of ages. A vessel filled with water was brought in,
and Hjorvard poured water upon the child, and said in a loud voice, so
that the people should hear him: “Ivar shall the boy be named after his
grandfather; he will of Odin’s family the foremost man be called; he
will fight many battles, and be much like his mother, and be called his
father’s son, for he will wage war from early age, and wander far and
wide.” After this ceremony, the life of Ivar, like that of all other
men, was sacred; his father had not the power to expose him or to take
his life, and if he did it would be murder.
Hjorvard gave first, as a “name fastening,” a sprig of garlic as a
symbol that as the garlic stood high among the grass, so would little
Ivar stand among men. Then he placed by his side a double-edged sword
and a sax, a coat of mail, a shield and a helmet of silver; these had
been made specially beforehand, in case the expected new-born infant
should be a boy, and hence came the common saying that high-born infants
were born with weapons. He also gave him two large landed estates, one
called Ringstadir and the other Hightun. Every animal born on Hjorvard’s
numerous farms on the day of the birth of little Ivar was to belong to
him, with the increase thereof, according to ancient custom.
The champions and warriors of Hjorvard said that good years were in
store for them, as little Ivar would become in time a mighty warrior
who, like his father and forefathers, would lead them to victory, as he
had the piercing, snake-like eyes of the Ynglingars.
During the night which followed the ceremony of name fastening, the
utmost silence reigned in the house where little Ivar and his mother
slept. No one spoke; the utmost darkness prevailed there, for no lights
were burning. The three Nornir, Urd “the Past,” Verdandi “the Present,”
and Skuld “the Future,” were expected to come, and forecast the life of
Ivar that night.
These three genii shaped, or foreordained, the life of every human being
at his birth; their decrees were final, and the gods had no power to
undo what they predestined. They carved on wood tablets the laws for the
children of men. According to the belief of the Norsemen, they were an
inseparable triad, or trinity, who, though independent of each other,
ruled as one the destinies of man. They were the representatives of all
life—the past, the present, and the future.
Urd was most majestic in appearance; her long, flowing hair was as white
as the purest snow. The wisdom of the past lighted up her beautiful
countenance. Her dreamy eyes looked back on the countless ages of the
past. She remembered all that had happened since the time of
Ginnungagap, or Great Void, before the worlds had been created, and
beheld the successive changes that were taking place. From that time
change was constant; no ripple of the sea was as it was an instant
before, for every moment witnessed new transformations. Nothing is as it
was, and nothing will be as it has been. And Urd’s contented mind told
her that all that happened in the immensity and evolution of time was
for the best.
Verdandi looked fondly upon Urd, for the present could not exist without
the past. She was most beautiful; her long, golden chestnut hair, dyed
by countless years in the rays of the sun, typified the ripening of
life, of time, of seasons. Her face reflected the beauty and the
loveliness of the world in which Ivar’s father and mother lived. She saw
what was constantly happening in the world—the storms, the wars, the
joys, the pestilences. Once in a while an expression of sadness passed
over her countenance, for the woes and sorrows that befell men were
brought upon them by themselves, and not by the Nornir.
Skuld was resplendent in beauty and freshness. Butterflies always
surrounded her, for she typified immortality. She held in one of her
hands the thread of life of every human being. Her garment shone like a
silvery cloud; from her long, flowing hair sprang rays of light, more
brilliant than those of the sun, sending their radiance all over the
world. With unbounded joy she looked into the future and into
immortality. Hope she gave to all the children of men, and hid from
their sight the breakers ahead, which wreck so many lives. With one hand
she was ready to snap asunder the thread of life, which measured the
number of days or hours allotted by the Nornir to every human being that
came into the world.
The three Nornir lived in a large hall under the great ash tree,
“Yggdrasil,” where the gods give their judgments every day. The ash is
the largest and best of trees; it stands ever green; its branches spread
all over the world, and reach up over the heaven; three roots of the
tree hold it up, and spread very widely. Under one of the roots is the
well in which wisdom and intellect are hidden.
* * * * *
Towards midnight, when every one was profoundly asleep, and deep silence
reigned in the house, Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, according to the belief
of the Norse people, came to forecast the fate of little Ivar. They bade
him become the most valiant of chiefs, and the best of rulers. They
unravelled the golden threads of fate they held, and fastened them in
the midst of the heavens; in the east and in the west they hid their
ends, and foretold that Ivar should hold land between them; but Skuld
flung one thread on northern roads, and bade it to hold forever. This
fore-shadowed that he would never conquer any country north of Gotland.
And it came to pass that the great dream of his life to extend his
dominions north was never realized. They bade that he should understand
the language of birds; and then they departed from the house to forecast
other lives that were coming into the world.
------------------------------------------------------------------------