THE YULE SACRIFICE
HJORVARD was zealous in the discharge of his ecclesiastical functions,
and very observant of all the sacrificial rites. The chief temple of
Gotland was at Dampstadir, and every man on the island paid a temple tax
to him, for the support of the temple and sacrifice. The sacred building
was situated not far from the burg, between it and the mounds where
Hjorvard’s ancestors lay buried. It was much like many others in the
Viking lands, the same general laws being in force in regard to all of
them. It was two hundred and fifty feet in length, and one hundred and
twenty-five feet wide; its wooden walls of massive fir trees had
withstood the blasts of centuries. It had numerous and fantastic
gargoyles, a long piazza round it, and the interior was divided into two
parts, the inmost part being the most holy.
The lands, the groves, and springs within the precincts of the temple
were considered most sacred. No one was allowed to enter the temple with
weapons, neither those who had committed an offence punishable by law.
No quarrels or acts of violence were permitted within its walls. Any one
committing any breach of the peace, damaging the temple, or coming armed
within its walls, was declared a wolf in the sanctuary, an outlaw who
might be slain by anyone.
Inside the main entrance door stood the golden high seats upon which
Hjorvard sat as Hersir and High Priest. The timber of the temple, and
even the mould under the sacred building, were also considered holy. The
walls inside were richly ornamented with gold and silver, and hung with
tapestry. The door was adorned with a gold knocker.
In the innermost part of the temple stood the altar, which was
constructed with great skill. Upon the altar a fire was constantly kept
burning night and day; this fire was called the “holy fire.” Upon it
also stood a large ring, or bracelet, of gold, on which men took their
oaths. The large bowl of copper, in which the blood of the sacrificed
animals was put, was there also; and the vessel, as well as the blood
from the sacrificed animal, was called holy. Near the entrance outside
was the holy or sacrificing spring, in which men that were sacrificed
were thrown.
There were three principal sacrifices a year all over the Viking lands,
at which the people assembled in the chief temple.
The Winter sacrifice, which took place in the month of Goi, now called
October, was to welcome the winter, and on this occasion there were
great feasts and much drinking. The second sacrifice, Midwinter, or
Yule, sacrifice, was held in the middle of winter, in the month Thor, to
insure a good year and peace. This was the great sacrifice to Frey. The
third was the Victory sacrifice, in honor of Odin, for luck and victory;
it took place in the beginning of spring, in the middle of April, before
men began to go on Viking expeditions.
Ivar had returned to Dampstadir after the sacrifice to celebrate the
advent of winter had taken place. All the Vikings of the Baltic who had
not wintered in foreign lands had come back, for a frozen sea would have
prevented their vessels from reaching their destination if they had been
late, although the shores of Zeeland and Fyen and the coast of Norway
were free from ice during the whole year, with rare exceptions.
Yule was near at hand, and the midwinter sacrifice, the most important
of all, was to be on a very great scale at Dampstadir. More animals than
usual were to be sacrificed. Black oxen, horses, boars, and falcons had
been specially fattened.
Vast numbers of people had flocked daily to Dampstadir, and had brought
with them their provisions, also the ale and beer they needed for this
festival. The day before Yule, everyone who was to be present at the
sacrifice had arrived.
Yule eve, Hjorvard and the large assembly led in procession, as was
customary, the atonement boar which had been consecrated to Frey. The
animal was very large and handsome, and was so fine that it seemed as if
every bristle on it was of gold. According to the sacred rites, the boar
was led forward, and those who were to make vows placed one hand upon
the head of the sacred animal, and the other upon its bristles. Among
the great chiefs who were to make vows were Hersir Hamund the Valiant,
the berserk Hromund the Bold, Ingald the Black-eyed, Ivar, and many
other chiefs and high-born men.
The first evening the sacrificing ceremonies began, the animals were
slaughtered in silence, and their blood was collected in the sacrificing
bowl that had been taken from the altar, and after being filled was put
back, and then consecrated by Hjorvard making the sign of the hammer of
Thor over it; after which, the altar and the walls of the temple inside
and outside, were reddened with the sacrificed blood, and then the
people were also sprinkled with the blood, with the sacred twigs used
specially for the purpose of sanctification.
After the sprinkling of the people had taken place, the flesh of the
slaughtered animal was put in large sacrificial kettles, and these were
hung over the holy fires which ran all along the middle of the temple.
Then Hjorvard, as High Priest, consecrated the food with the sign of the
hammer of Thor. When the food was ready, the horns were filled with ale,
then carried round the fires, and were also consecrated. After these
ceremonies, the people who had been standing up seated themselves along
the walls of the temple, and then ate of the sacrificial meat of oxen
and horses.
As customary, the horn, or toast, to Odin was drunk first, for victory
and also for the continuation of the power of Hjorvard; then the horn to
Thor, for those who trusted in their own strength and power; then the
horns to Njord and Frey, for good years and peace. This was followed by
the toast to Bragi, the god of poetry. Over this horn, according to
custom, vows were made, and these vows had to be made good during the
year that followed. This was the most important toast, for men had to
keep their word or die in the attempt to accomplish their vows. Many
also drank well-filled horns to those of their dead kinsmen who had been
great men, and these were called memorial horns.
After this, Hjorvard arose and made a vow that he would drive from the
sea every Roman vessel that was to be seen along the coast of Gaul,
Britain, Frisia, or die in the undertaking.
Hromund the Bold rose and said: “Slight is thy vow, indeed, Hjorvard,
for it requires but little strength and will to drive the Romans from
the sea. Make a stronger vow, which will show thy daring and bravery;
then I will follow thee and make my own.”
Hjorvard answered, “Hromund, thou art right. I vow that I will make war
in Gaul and Britain, and come back with great booty; and, furthermore, I
will sacrifice the prisoners I make, and redden with their blood the
altar of the gods. I take also the oath, that if any vessels of the
Romans ever try to come to our land, as they never have tried yet, not
one of their men shall return back alive to tell of our country.”
“This is a stronger vow than the first, foster-brother,” said Hromund
the Hersir, “but there is little fear that they will ever come to our
land, for they dread our people and our ships; their warships flee at
the approach of our fleets, but I like the vows thou hast made to attack
them in their strongholds of Gaul and Britain.”
Then he himself arose and said: “I vow that I will follow thee,
Hjorvard, in thy expeditions against the Romans, with all my ships and
warriors; return if thou returnest, or die a warrior’s death if thou
hast been fated to go to Valhalla in thy undertaking; for as
foster-brothers we have sworn to avenge each other.”
Then Hamund the Valiant arose and said: “I vow that I will follow you,
Hjorvard, and Hromund the Bold, with all my ships and warriors, and
devastate with you the provinces of the Roman Empire, and go into the
Mediterranean. We will show the Romans that they cannot withstand the
power of the Norsemen any more on the land than on the sea.”
Then Ingald the Black-eyed rose and said: “I take the oath that I will
follow you all, and that my standard will float on the shores of
Britain, and that I will make upon that island a settlement that the
power of the Roman will not dare to attack, or I will perish in the
attempt.”
Ivar rose and vowed that he would follow his father in that expedition,
or die in the undertaking. Many men made vows that night.
After these vows, the memorial toasts to dead kinsmen took place. The
scene was solemn and impressive, for many of those that were to be
remembered had been living a few years back, and others had died
centuries before, in a halo of glory. All had helped to make the land of
the Vikings what it was, the most feared of all lands. After the
departed kinsmen had been remembered, those present rose and vowed to
follow in their footsteps.
Those who could not come to the temple held sacrifices at home. The
feast among the people lasted thirteen days, and many spent half of the
Yule at each other’s farms.
The following April, after the sacrifice to Odin for victory had taken
place, all over the Northern lands warriors were getting their ships
ready for the general and powerful expeditions that were soon to proceed
against the provinces of the Roman Empire; even the shores of the
Mediterranean were also to be attacked.
Many of the Vikings intended also to reënforce by their numbers the
colonies that had been made by their kinsmen in Britain, Gaul, and
Friesland, and other countries, and to settle there.
Hjorvard and all the other powerful chiefs who had taken oaths at the
preceding Yule sacrifice at Dampstadir had not forgotten them; they were
making most extensive preparations for war and conquest. Hjorvard was
chiefly the cause of the great upheaval. A warlike message had gone to
every inhabited place of the land, and every youth wanted to be among
those who were going.
Every man who was bound by law to furnish a war-ship or more had been
summoned to do so by all the Hersirs. Hjorvard gathered a fleet of
several hundred vessels. The greatest enthusiasm prevailed among those
who were to follow him. Many doughty champions of the North had come to
join his standard, for they knew that victory would follow him. They
came from the shores of the present Norway, of the Cattegat, the islands
of the Baltic, and the southern shores of that sea. They all knew that
they were the chosen of the gods, and were to be victorious.
Weapon Things, or meetings, had taken place everywhere. At these all the
freemen were obliged to come and show sword, spear, an axe, a shield,
all in perfect order. Each Bondi had to be ready at the place where the
war arrow had summoned him, and had to show one bow and two dozen arrows
for every bench of the ship or ships he was obliged to furnish.
Hjalmar arrived at Dampstadir from Engel with one hundred ships; the
fleets of several of his kinsmen joined him the next day with two
hundred ships more. Among these were the berserk Sigvaldi, who came with
twenty ships; Tryggvy with fifteen, Trividil with nine. Starkard came
with a single skeid manned only with berserks who had constantly the
berserk fury upon them. Helsing came with three ships, with a crew
composed in great part of skilful archers and slingmen, or
stone-throwers. These men came north of the present Christiania fjord.
Sigmund and Sigurd also arrived, to the great joy of Ivar and Hjalmar,
with fifty fine vessels each. Every one of these had a crew of two
hundred and twenty men. The sea before Dampstadir seemed to be like a
forest of masts.
There was nothing in the world which the Vikings thought more of than
their ships. Upon them they lavished their wealth and skill. They all
vied with each other as to who should have the finest craft. Hjorvard’s
dragon-ship was the most powerful of all the warships assembled before
Dampstadir, and his pennant, which floated at its masthead, was
embroidered with gold, and in the centre was the representation of Hugin
and Munin, the ravens of Odin.
On the eve of their departure, Ivar and Hjalmar went to a sibyl called
Helge, who, by rubbing with her hands the bodies of men who were setting
out for war, could find out the vulnerable spot that would be wounded
unless she protected it by her incantations. The foster-brothers
themselves wore charmed chain-armor, which no weapons could penetrate.
During the absence of Hjorvard, Sigrlin was to rule over the estates.
The horns for the departure sounded; the ships soon afterwards were on
their way south, and in a short time were out of sight of the shores of
Gotland. New accessions of ships were constantly made on the way, and
after a sail of two days the fleet reached Hleidra, the head burg of
Halfdan, the powerful ruler of Zeeland. This burg was situated on the
arm of the sea which is known to-day under the name of the Roskilde
fjord.
There they met an equally powerful fleet, which Halfdan had summoned.
The vessels were so numerous that the sound between the present Helsinor
and Helsingborg on the Swedish coast was but a forest of masts, and the
sea could not be seen.
Halfdan received Hjorvard, his kinsman, and the high-born men who had
come with him, with great honor. There was great feasting and drinking
for several days.
Here the ships were joined by a most imposing fleet of more than one
thousand sail from Svithjod, manned by most valiant men. Then fleet
after fleet arrived; some came from the beautiful and powerful island of
Funen, from the present island of Bornholm—in a word, from every island
of the Baltic and Cattegat, and also many vessels from the peninsula of
Jutland. At the Lime fjord, a large arm of the sea on the northern part
of Jutland, the fleets of all the Hersirs of the present Norway, and
those living on the Cattegat, were waiting for the coming of the fleets
of the Baltic. When all the vessels reached the Lime fjord, they found
there a fleet of over two thousand craft assembled. The vessels
composing the expedition were of all sizes, from the great dragon-ships
to the small skutas; many of these latter were intended for shallow
water. There were also a very great number of provision ships, and
others to carry horses. Horses were always used by the Vikings to
reconnoitre the land after they had landed.
At a council of all the commanders, it was agreed that this great number
of vessels would divide into several fleets, and those into several
squadrons, and that the Roman Empire should be attacked in many places;
also that several squadrons should sail for the Mediterranean, and a
time and special places were fixed for vessels to meet before the coming
of winter.
After the plan of campaign had been settled, the horns were sounded to
order the departure of the fleets. They divided themselves as had been
arranged, the red shields were hoisted on the mastheads, and a mighty
shout of war rose from every ship, far and wide, spreading like the
thunder along the sky, or the sound of a mighty torrent breaking
everything that existed. It bade defiance to the Roman world and empire.
It was no easy matter for each fleet to depart in the midst of this
great forest of masts, but the good seamanship of the Vikings mastered
the difficulties, and but few casualties took place.
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