THE RELIGION OF THE NORSEMEN.
The Icelander Snorre Sturlasson wrote in the thirteenth century a very
remarkable book, called the Heimskringla, or the Sagas of the Kings of
Norway. In this book he says that Odin, the highest god of the Norsemen,
was the chief who first led the Germanic tribes into Europe. He was a
great warrior and was always victorious. Therefore, when he was dead,
the people made sacrifices to him and prayed to him for victory. They
did not believe, however, that he was actually dead, but that he had
returned to his old home in Asia, whence he still watched their fortunes
and occasionally visited them in person. Many tales are told in the
sagas of people who had seen Odin, particularly when a great battle was
to be fought. He was represented as a tall, bearded man with one eye,
and clad as a warrior. He had two brothers, Vile and Ve, and many sons
and daughters who were worshipped like him and became gods and
goddesses. Odin and his children were called _Aesir_, which Snorre says
means Asia-men; and their home _Asgard_, or _Asaheim_, likewise
indicates their Asiatic origin. During their migrations the _Aesir_ came
in contact with another people, called the _Vanir_, with whom, after an
indecisive battle, they formed an alliance. The _Vanir_ then made common
cause with the _Aesir_ and were worshipped like them.
[Illustration: BRONZE SWORD. (Vestergoetland in Sweden.)]
Whether there is any basis of truth in this tradition, is difficult to
determine. We know that primitive nations usually make gods of their
early kings and chieftains, and worship them after death. Every year
that passes makes them look greater and more mysterious. In storms and
earthquakes, in thunder and lightning, they hear their voices and see
the manifestations of their power. More and more they become identified
with the elements which they are supposed to rule; the mighty attributes
of the sun, the sky, and the sea are given to them, and to each is
allotted his particular sphere of action. The chieftain who has been a
valiant warrior in his life-time is supposed to give victory to those
who call upon him. He who has excelled in the arts of peace continues to
rule over the seasons, and to give good crops and prosperity to those
who, by sacrifices, secure his good-will. This may have been the origin
of the Scandinavian gods; although many scholars maintain that they were
from the beginning personifications of the elements, and have never had
an actual existence on earth. But whether they were originally men or
sun-myths, interesting legends have been told about them which may be
worth recounting.
[Illustration: LOOR OR WAR HORN OF BRONZE. (Skaane.)]
In the beginning of time there were two worlds, Muspelheim, the world of
fire, whose king was Surtur, and Niflheim, the world of frost and
darkness. In Niflheim was the spring Hvergelmer, where dwelt the
terrible dragon Nidhoegger. Between these two worlds was the yawning
chasm Ginnungagap. The spring Hvergelmer sent forth twelve icy rivers,
which were called the Elivagar. These gradually filled up the chasm
Ginnungagap. As the wild waters rushed into the abyss, they froze and
were again thawed by the sparks that were blown from the fiery
Muspelheim. The frozen vapors fell as hoar-frost, and the heat imparted
life to them. They took shape and fashioned themselves into the Yotun or
giant Ymer, from whom descends the evil race of frost-giants.
Simultaneously with Ymer the cow Audhumbla came into being. She licked
the briny hoar-frost, and a mighty being appeared with the shape of a
man. He was large and beautiful, and was named Bure. His son was Boer,
who married the daughter of a Yotun, and got three sons, Odin, Vile, and
Ve. These three brothers slew the Yotun Ymer, and in his blood all the
race of Yotuns was drowned except one couple, from whom a new race of
giants descended. Then Odin and his brothers dragged the huge body of
Ymer into the middle of Ginnungagap, and fashioned from it the world.
Out of the flesh they made the earth, the bones became stones and lofty
mountains, and his blood the sea. From his hair they made the trees, and
from his skull the great vault of the sky. His brain they scattered in
the air, where its fragments yet float about in queer, fantastic shapes,
and are called clouds. The flying sparks from Muspelheim they gathered
up and fashioned them into sun, moon, and stars, which they flung up
against the blue vault of the sky. Then they arranged land and water so
that the ocean flowed round about the entire earth, and beyond the
watery waste they fixed the abode of the Yotuns. This cold and barren
realm beyond the sea is therefore called Utgard or Yotunheim. From the
earth to the sky they suspended a bridge of many colors, which they
named Bifrost or the rainbow. The Yotun woman Night married Delling (the
Dawn) and became the mother of Day, who rode in his shining chariot
across the sky, always followed by his dark mother. The latter drove a
huge black horse named Hrimfaxe, from whose foamy bit dropped the dew
that refreshed the grass during the hours of darkness, while Day's
horse, Skinfaxe, spread from his radiant mane the glorious light over
the earth. It is further told that the heat bred in Ymer's body a
multitude of maggots, which assumed the shapes of tiny men and were
called gnomes or dwarves. They live in caves and mountains, and know of
all the treasures of gold and silver and precious stones in the secret
chambers of the rocks. They also have great skill in the working of
metals, but they cannot endure the light of the sun. Last of all man was
created. One day when the three gods, Odin, Hoener, and Lodur were
walking on the shores of the sea they found two trees, and from these
they made a man and a woman, named Ask and Embla (ash and elm). Odin
gave them the breath of life, Hoener, speech and reason, Lodur, blood and
fair complexions.
[Illustration: BRONZE SWORD. (Sandherred.)]
The old Norsemen conceived of the world as an enormous ash tree, named
Ygdrasil, the three roots of which extend, one to the gods in Asgard,
another to Yotunheim, the third to Niflheim. On the third gnaws
continually the dragon Nidhoegger. In the top of the tree sits an eagle;
among the branches four stags are running; and up and down on the trunk
frisks a squirrel who carries slander and endeavors to make mischief
between the eagle and the dragon. Under the root which stretches to
Yotunheim is the fountain of the wise Yotun Mimer, to whom Odin gave one
of his eyes in return for a draught from his fountain. For whoever drank
from its water became instantly wise. Under the second root of the ash,
which draws its nourishment from heaven, is the sacred fountain of Urd,
whither the gods ride daily over the bridge Bifrost. Here they meet the
three Norns--Urd, Verdande, and Skuld (Past, Present, and Future), the
august goddesses of Fate, whose decrees not even the gods are able to
change. The Norns pour the water of the fountain over Ygdrasil's root,
and thereby keep the world-tree alive. They govern the fates of gods
and men, giving life or death to whomever they please.
[Illustration: BUCKLE FROM THE EARLY IRON AGE. FOUND AT HETLAND IN
STAVANGER AMT.]
Odin dwells with all the other gods in Asgard, where he receives in his
shining hall Valhalla all those who have died by the sword. He is
therefore called Valfather, and those fallen warriors whom he chooses to
be his guests, are known as _einheriar_, _i. e._, great champions.
Valhalla is splendidly decorated with burnished weapons. The ceiling is
made of spears, the roof is covered with shining shields, and the walls
are adorned with armor and coats of mail. Hence the champions issue
forth every day and fight great battles, killing and maiming each other.
But every night they wake up whole and unscathed and return to Odin's
hall, where they spend the night in merry carousing. The maidens of
Odin--the Valkyries, who, before every battle, select those who are to
be slain, wait upon the warriors, fill their great horns with mead, and
give them the flesh of swine to eat.
The great gathering-place of the gods in Asgard is the plains of Ida.
Here is Odin's throne, where he sits looking out over the whole world.
At his side sit the two wolves--Gere and Freke, and on his shoulders the
ravens, Hugin and Munin, who daily fly forth and bear him tidings from
the remotest regions of the earth. If he wishes to travel, he mounts his
eight-footed horse Sleipner, which carries him far and wide with
wonderful speed. When the father of gods and men rides to battle he
wears a helmet of gold and a suit of mail, which shines dazzlingly from
afar. He carries also his spear Gungner, which he sends forth whenever
he wishes to arouse men to warfare and strife. But, besides being the
god of war, Odin also delights in poetry and sage counsel. He is the god
of the scalds or poets; for he had drunk of Suttung's mead, which
imparted the gift of song. He is well skilled in sorcery, and has taught
men the art of writing runes.
Thor, the son of Odin, lives in Thrudvang. He is the strongest of all
the gods, and has an enormous hammer, Mjolner, with which he carries on
a ceaseless warfare against the Yotuns, or mist-giants. He rides in a
cart drawn by two rams across the Gjallar bridge (the resounding
bridge), which leads to Yotunheim, and the rattling of the cart and the
noise of his hammer, as he hurls it at the heads of the fleeing giants,
make the vault of the sky tremble. This is what men call thunder. When
Thor is hungry, he kills his rams and eats their flesh, but he is always
careful to gather up the bones and to throw them back into the skins.
Then, the next morning, the rams are as frisky as ever and ready for
service. Thor has a wife named Sif, whose hair is of gold.
Balder, the good and the beautiful, is also the son of Odin. He is wise
and gentle, and kindness beams from his countenance. His wife is Nanna,
and his dwelling Breidablik.
Njord is ruler of the sea, and can raise storms and calm the waves at
his pleasure. He is of the race of the Vanir, but is yet worshipped as a
god. He is the owner of great wealth, and can give prosperity to those
who obtain his favor. Njord was married to the Yotun woman, Skade, but
was again separated from her. His abode is at Noatun, from which he has
wide view of the sea.
Frey, the son of Njord, rules over the seasons, and gives peace and good
crops. Fields and pastures grow, and the cattle thrive in the sunshine
of his favor. He lives with his wife Gerd in Alfheim. Tyr is the god of
courage, whom men call upon as they are about to go into battle. He has
but one hand, having thrust the other into the mouth of the
Fenris-Wolf, who bit it off. Brage is the god of song, and of vows and
pledges. He has a long beard, and, is possessed of wisdom and eloquence.
When men drained the horn in his honor, they made vows of daring deeds
which they would perform, and called the god to witness that they would
keep them. Many were those who, while drunk, pledged themselves to
foolhardy undertakings, and perished in the attempt to carry them out.
Brage's wife is the ever-young Idun. She has in her keeping the
wonderful apples, which the gods eat to preserve the beauty and vigor of
an eternal youth.
The watchman of the gods is named Heimdal. His senses are so keen that
nothing can escape him. He can see hundreds of miles, and he can hear
the grass grow. When he blows his Gjallar horn (the resounding horn),
its rousing call is heard throughout the world. Heimdal's dwelling is
Himinbjarg at the Bifrost Bridge.
Among gods of less consequence may be mentioned Uller, the step-son of
Thor, who is a master in running on snow-shoes; Forsete, the son of
Balder, who makes peace between those who have quarrelled; Hoeder, the
blind god, who shot Balder; and the silent Vidar.
Foremost among the goddesses is Frigg, the wife of Odin, who dwells in
Fensal. She shields from danger those who call upon her. Freya, the
Northern Venus, is the goddess of beauty. She is the daughter of Njord,
and was forsaken by her husband Odd, and is ever hoping for his return.
She travelled far and wide in search of him, and wept because she could
not find him. Her tears turned into gold, and gold is therefore by the
poets called the tears of Freya. Her chariot, in which she drives over
the sky, is drawn by cats, though at times she flies in the guise of a
swan and visits distant lands. Her necklace, Brising, made by
wonder-working gnomes, is of dazzling splendor. The dwelling of Freya is
Folkvang, and thither ascend the prayers of lovelorn swains and maidens.
Freya's daughter, Hnos, is of marvellous beauty and a sweet disposition.
Her name is still used in the nursery as a pet-name for babes.
The dominion of the sea does not belong entirely to Njord. The Yotun
Aeger rules over the towering waves, and lashes them into fury, until
Njord again curbs them and bids them be still. Yet Aeger is the friend
of the gods, and is at times visited by them in his magnificent
submarine hall, where ale and mead flow abundantly. He is himself
peaceably disposed toward men, but is overruled by his terrible wife
Ran, who with her nine daughters (the waves) causes shipwrecks and draws
the drowned men down to her watery abode.
One dweller in Asgard is still to be mentioned, and that is the evil
Loke, who disturbs the peace of the gods, and will work their final
ruin. He was born among the Yotuns, but gained the confidence of Odin by
his agreeable presence and his fair speech. He delighted in mischief and
loved evil-doing. He had three terrible children--the wolf Fenris, the
world-serpent, and Hel. As these monsters grew up, the gods foresaw that
their presence in Asgard would cause trouble. The wolf Fenris was,
therefore, after having broken the strongest chains, tied with a
magical cord, made of the noise of cats'-paws, women's beard, roots of
mountains, and other equally intangible things. This cord he could not
break. The world-serpent was thrown into the ocean, where it continued
to grow until it encircled all the earth and at last bit its own tail.
Hel was banished to Helheim, where she became the ruler of the dead, and
the goddess of the under-world.
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