The God of the Sea
Besides Niörd and Mimir, who were both ocean divinities, the one
representing the sea near the coast and the other the primæval ocean
whence all things were supposed to have sprung, the Northern races
recognised another sea-ruler, called Ægir or Hler, who dwelt either
in the cool depths of his liquid realm or had his abode on the Island
of Lessoe, in the Cattegat, or Hlesey.
"Beneath the watery dome,
With crystalline splendour,
In radiant grandeur,
Upreared the sea-god's home.
More dazzling than foam of the waves
E'er glimmered and gleamed thro' deep caves
The glistening sands of its floor,
Like some placid lake rippled o'er."
Valhalla (J. C. Jones).
Ægir (the sea), like his brothers Kari (the air) and Loki (fire),
is supposed to have belonged to an older dynasty of the gods, for he
ranked neither with the Æsir, the Vanas, the giants, dwarfs, or elves,
but was considered omnipotent within his realm.
He was supposed to occasion and quiet the great tempests which swept
over the deep, and was generally represented as a gaunt old man,
with long white beard and hair, and clawlike fingers ever clutching
convulsively, as though he longed to have all things within his
grasp. Whenever he appeared above the waves, it was only to pursue and
overturn vessels, and to greedily drag them to the bottom of the sea,
a vocation in which he was thought to take fiendish delight.
The Goddess Ran
Ægir was mated with his sister, the goddess Ran, whose name means
"robber," and who was as cruel, greedy, and insatiable as her
husband. Her favourite pastime was to lurk near dangerous rocks,
whither she enticed mariners, and there spread her net, her most
prized possession, when, having entangled the men in its meshes and
broken their vessels on the jagged cliffs, she would calmly draw them
down into her cheerless realm.
"In the deep sea caves
By the sounding shore,
In the dashing waves
When the wild storms roar,
In her cold green bowers
In the Northern fiords,
She lurks and she glowers,
She grasps and she hoards,
And she spreads her strong net for her prey."
Story of Siegfried (Baldwin).
Ran was considered the goddess of death for all who perished at sea,
and the Northern nations fancied that she entertained the drowned
in her coral caves, where her couches were spread to receive them,
and where the mead flowed freely as in Valhalla. The goddess was
further supposed to have a great affection for gold, which was called
the "flame of the sea," and was used to illuminate her halls. This
belief originated with the sailors, and sprang from the striking
phosphorescent gleam of the waves. To win Ran's good graces, the
Northmen were careful to hide some gold about them whenever any
special danger threatened them on the sea.
"Gold, on sweetheart ramblings,
Pow'rful is and pleasant;
Who goes empty-handed
Down to sea-blue Ran,
Cold her kisses strike, and
Fleeting her embrace is--
But we ocean's bride be-
Troth with purest gold."
Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).
The Waves
Ægir and Ran had nine beautiful daughters, the Waves, or
billow-maidens, whose snowy arms and bosoms, long golden hair,
deep-blue eyes, and willowy, sensuous forms were fascinating in
the extreme. These maidens delighted in sporting over the surface
of their father's vast domain, clad lightly in transparent blue,
white, or green veils. They were very moody and capricious, however,
varying from playful to sullen and apathetic moods, and at times
exciting one another almost to madness, tearing their hair and veils,
flinging themselves recklessly upon their hard beds, the rocks,
chasing one another with frantic haste, and shrieking aloud with joy
or despair. But they seldom came out to play unless their brother,
the Wind, were abroad, and according to his mood they were gentle
and playful, or rough and boisterous.
The Waves were generally supposed to go about in triplets, and were
often said to play around the ships of vikings whom they favoured,
smoothing away every obstacle from their course, and helping them to
reach speedily their goals.
"And Æger's daughters, in blue veils dight,
The helm leap round, and urge it on its flight."
Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).
Ægir's Brewing Kettle
To the Anglo-Saxons the sea-god Ægir was known by the name of Eagor,
and whenever an unusually large wave came thundering towards the shore,
the sailors were wont to cry, as the Trent boatmen still do, "Look out,
Eagor is coming!" He was also known by the name of Hler (the shelterer)
among the Northern nations, and of Gymir (the concealer), because he
was always ready to hide things in the depths of his realm, and could
be depended upon not to reveal the secrets entrusted to his care. And,
because the waters of the sea were frequently said to seethe and hiss,
the ocean was often called Ægir's brewing kettle or vat.
The god's two principal servants were Elde and Funfeng, emblems of
the phosphorescence of the sea; they were noted for their quickness
and they invariably waited upon the guests whom he invited to his
banquets in the depths of the sea. Ægir sometimes left his realm to
visit the Æsir in Asgard, where he was always royally entertained, and
he delighted in Bragi's many tales of the adventures and achievements
of the gods. Excited by these narratives, as also by the sparkling
mead which accompanied them, the god on one occasion ventured to
invite the Æsir to celebrate the harvest feast with him in Hlesey,
where he promised to entertain them in his turn.
Thor and Hymir
Surprised at this invitation, one of the gods ventured to remind
Ægir that they were accustomed to dainty fare; whereupon the god
of the sea declared that as far as eating was concerned they need
be in no anxiety, as he was sure that he could cater for the most
fastidious appetites; but he confessed that he was not so confident
about drink, as his brewing kettle was rather small. Hearing this,
Thor immediately volunteered to procure a suitable kettle, and set
out with Tyr to obtain it. The two gods journeyed east of the Elivagar
in Thor's goat chariot, and leaving this at the house of the peasant
Egil, Thialfi's father, they wended their way on foot to the dwelling
of the giant Hymir, who was known to own a kettle one mile deep and
proportionately wide.
"There dwells eastward
Of Elivagar
The all-wise Hymir,
At heaven's end.
My sire, fierce of mood,
A kettle owns,
A capacious cauldron,
A rast in depth."
Sæmund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).
Only the women were at home, however, and Tyr recognised in the
elder--an ugly old hag with nine hundred heads--his own grandmother;
while the younger, a beautiful young giantess, was, it appeared,
his mother, and she received her son and his companion hospitably,
and gave them to drink.
After learning their errand, Tyr's mother bade the visitors hide under
some huge kettles, which rested upon a beam at the end of the hall,
for her husband Hymir was very hasty and often slew his would-be guests
with a single baleful glance. The gods quickly followed her advice, and
no sooner were they concealed than the old giant Hymir came in. When
his wife told him that visitors had come, he frowned so portentously,
and flashed such a wrathful look towards their hiding-place, that
the rafter split and the kettles fell with a crash, and, except the
largest, were all dashed to pieces.
"In shivers flew the pillar
At the Jötun's glance;
The beam was first
Broken in two.
Eight kettles fell,
But only one of them,
A hard-hammered cauldron,
Whole from the column."
Sæmund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).
The giant's wife, however, prevailed upon her husband to welcome
Tyr and Thor, and he slew three oxen for their refection; but
great was his dismay to see the thunder-god eat two of these for
his supper. Muttering that he would have to go fishing early the
next morning to secure a breakfast for so voracious a guest, the
giant retired to rest, and when at dawn the next day he went down
to the shore, he was joined by Thor, who said that he had come to
help him. The giant bade him secure his own bait, whereupon Thor
coolly slew his host's largest ox, Himinbrioter (heaven-breaker),
and cutting off its head, he embarked with it and proceeded to row
far out to sea. In vain Hymir protested that his usual fishing-ground
had been reached, and that they might encounter the terrible Midgard
snake were they to venture any farther; Thor persistently rowed on,
until he fancied they were directly above this monster.
"On the dark bottom of the great salt lake,
Imprisoned lay the giant snake,
With naught his sullen sleep to break."
Thor's Fishing, Oehlenschläger (Pigott's tr.).
Baiting his powerful hook with the ox head, Thor angled for
Iörmungandr, while the giant meantime drew up two whales, which seemed
to him to be enough for an early morning meal. He was about to propose
to return, therefore, when Thor suddenly felt a jerk, and began pulling
as hard as he could, for he knew by the resistance of his prey, and the
terrible storm created by its frenzied writhings, that he had hooked
the Midgard snake. In his determined efforts to force the snake to rise
to the surface, Thor braced his feet so strongly against the bottom
of the boat that he went through it and stood on the bed of the sea.
After an indescribable struggle, the monster's terrible venom-breathing
head appeared, and Thor, seizing his hammer, was about to annihilate
it when the giant, frightened by the proximity of Iörmungandr, and
fearing lest the boat should sink and he should become the monster's
prey, cut the fishing-line, and thus allowed the snake to drop back
like a stone to the bottom of the sea.
"The knife prevails: far down beneath the main
The serpent, spent with toil and pain,
To the bottom sank again."
Thor's Fishing, Oehlenschläger (Pigott's tr.).
Angry with Hymir for his inopportune interference, Thor dealt him
a blow with his hammer which knocked him overboard; but Hymir,
undismayed, waded ashore, and met the god as he returned to the
beach. Hymir then took both whales, his spoil of the sea, upon his
back, to carry them to the house; and Thor, wishing also to show his
strength, shouldered boat, oars, and fishing tackle, and followed him.
Breakfast being disposed of, Hymir challenged Thor to prove his
strength by breaking his beaker; but although the thunder-god
threw it with irresistible force against stone pillars and walls,
it remained whole and was not even bent. In obedience to a whisper
from Tyr's mother, however, Thor suddenly hurled the vessel against
the giant's forehead, the only substance tougher than itself, when it
fell shattered to the ground. Hymir, having thus tested the might of
Thor, told him he could have the kettle which the two gods had come
to seek, but Tyr tried to lift it in vain, and Thor could raise it
from the floor only after he had drawn his belt of strength to the
very last hole.
"Tyr twice assayed
To move the vessel,
Yet at each time
Stood the kettle fast.
Then Môdi's father
By the brim grasped it,
And trod through
The dwelling's floor."
Lay of Hymir (Thorpe's tr.)
The wrench with which he finally pulled it up did great damage to the
giant's house and his feet broke through the floor. As Tyr and Thor
were departing, the latter with the huge pot clapped on his head in
place of a hat, Hymir summoned his brother frost giants, and proposed
that they should pursue and slay their inveterate foe. Turning round,
Thor suddenly became aware of their pursuit, and, hurling Miölnir
repeatedly at the giants, he slew them all ere they could overtake
him. Tyr and Thor then resumed their journey back to Ægir, carrying
the kettle in which he was to brew ale for the harvest feast.
The physical explanation of this myth is, of course, a thunder storm
(Thor), in conflict with the raging sea (the Midgard snake), and the
breaking up of the polar ice (Hymir's goblet and floor) in the heat
of summer.
The gods now arrayed themselves in festive attire and proceeded
joyfully to Ægir's feast, and ever after they were wont to celebrate
the harvest home in his coral caves.
"Then Vans and Æsir, mighty gods,
Of earth and air, and Asgard, lords,--
Advancing with each goddess fair,
A brilliant retinue most rare,--
Attending mighty Odin, swept
Up wave-worn aisle in radiant march."
Valhalla (J. C. Jones).
Unloved Divinities
Ægir, as we have seen, ruled the sea with the help of the treacherous
Ran. Both of these divinities were considered cruel by the Northern
nations, who had much to suffer from the sea, which, surrounding
them on all sides, ran far into the heart of their countries through
the numerous fiords, and often swallowed the ships of their vikings,
with all their warrior crews.
Other Divinities of the Sea
Besides these principal divinities of the sea, the Northern nations
believed in mermen and mermaids, and many stories are related of
mermaids who divested themselves for a brief while of swan plumage or
seal-garments, which they left upon the beach to be found by mortals
who were thus able to compel the fair maidens to remain on land.
"She came through the waves when the fair moon shone
(Drift o' the wave and foam o' the sea);
She came where I walked on the sands alone,
With a heart as light as a heart may be."
L. E. R.
There were also malignant marine monsters known as Nicors, from whose
name has been derived the proverbial Old Nick. Many of the lesser
water divinities had fish tails; the females bore the name of Undines,
and the males of Stromkarls, Nixies, Necks, or Neckar.
"Where in the marisches boometh the bittern,
Nicker the Soul-less sits with his ghittern,
Sits inconsolable, friendless and foeless,
Wailing his destiny, Nicker the Soul-less."
From Brother Fabian's Manuscript.
In the middle ages these water spirits were believed sometimes to
leave their native streams, to appear at village dances, where they
were recognised by the wet hem of their garments. They often sat
beside the flowing brook or river, playing on a harp, or singing
alluring songs while combing out their long golden or green hair.
"The Neck here his harp in the glass castle plays,
And mermaidens comb out their green hair always,
And bleach here their shining white clothes."
Stagnelius (Keightley's tr.).
The Nixies, Undines, and Stromkarls were particularly gentle and
lovable beings, and were very anxious to obtain repeated assurances
of their ultimate salvation.
Many stories are told of priests or children meeting them playing by
a stream, and taunting them with future damnation, which threat never
failed to turn the joyful music into pitiful wails. Often priest or
children, discovering their mistake, and touched by the agony of their
victims, would hasten back to the stream and assure the green-toothed
water sprites of future redemption, when they invariably resumed
their happy strains.
"Know you the Nixies, gay and fair?
Their eyes are black, and green their hair--
They lurk in sedgy shores."
Mathisson.
River Nymphs
Besides Elf or Elb, the water sprite who gave its name to the Elbe
River in Germany, the Neck, from whom the Neckar derives its name,
and old Father Rhine, with his numerous daughters (tributary streams),
the most famous of all the lesser water divinities is the Lorelei,
the siren maiden who sits upon the Lorelei rock near St. Goar, on
the Rhine, and whose alluring song has enticed many a mariner to
death. The legends concerning this siren are very numerous indeed,
one of the most ancient being as follows:
Legends of the Lorelei
Lorelei was an immortal, a water nymph, daughter of Father Rhine;
during the day she dwelt in the cool depths of the river bed, but
late at night she would appear in the moonlight, sitting aloft upon
a pinnacle of rock, in full view of all who passed up or down the
stream. At times, the evening breeze wafted some of the notes of
her song to the boatmen's ears, when, forgetting time and place in
listening to these enchanting melodies, they drifted upon the sharp
and jagged rocks, where they invariably perished.
"Above the maiden sitteth,
A wondrous form, and fair;
With jewels bright she plaiteth
Her shining golden hair:
With comb of gold prepares it,
The task with song beguiled;
A fitful burden bears it--
That melody so wild.
"The boatman on the river
Lists to the song, spell-bound;
Oh! what shall him deliver
From danger threat'ning round?
The waters deep have caught them,
Both boat and boatman brave;
'Tis Loreley's song hath brought them
Beneath the foaming wave."
Song, Heine (Selcher's tr.).
One person only is said to have seen the Lorelei close by. This was
a young fisherman from Oberwesel, who met her every evening by the
riverside, and spent a few delightful hours with her, drinking in her
beauty and listening to her entrancing song. Tradition had it that ere
they parted the Lorelei pointed out the places where the youth should
cast his nets on the morrow--instructions which he always obeyed,
and which invariably brought him success.
One night the young fisherman was seen going towards the river,
but as he never returned search was made for him. No clue to his
whereabouts being found, the credulous Teutons finally reported that
the Lorelei had dragged him down to her coral caves that she might
enjoy his companionship for ever.
According to another version, the Lorelei, with her entrancing
strains from the craggy rocks, lured so many fishermen to a grave in
the depths of Rhine, that an armed force was once sent at nightfall
to surround and seize her. But the water nymph laid such a powerful
spell upon the captain and his men that they could move neither hand
nor foot. While they stood motionless around her, the Lorelei divested
herself of her ornaments, and cast them into the waves below; then,
chanting a spell, she lured the waters to the top of the crag upon
which she was perched, and to the wonder of the soldiers the waves
enclosed a sea-green chariot drawn by white-maned steeds, and the
nymph sprang lightly into this and the magic equipage was instantly
lost to view. A few moments later the Rhine subsided to its usual
level, the spell was broken, and the men recovered power of motion,
and retreated to tell how their efforts had been baffled. Since then,
however, the Lorelei has not been seen, and the peasants declare that
she still resents the insult offered her and will never again leave
her coral caves.