THE ASAS.
18. Then said Ganglere: Whence comes the wind? It is so strong that it
moves great seas, and fans fires to flame, and yet, strong as it is,
it cannot be seen. Therefore it is wonderfully made. Then answered Har:
That I can tell you well. At the northern end of heaven sits a giant,
who hight Hrasvelg. He is clad in eagles’ plumes, and when he spreads
his wings for flight, the winds arise from under them. Thus is it here
said:
Hrasvelg hight he
Who sits at the end of heaven,
A giant in eagle’s disguise.
From his wings, they say,
The wind does come
Over all mankind.[30]
[Footnote 30: Elder Edda: Vafthrudner’s Lay, 37.]
19. Then said Ganglere: How comes it that summer is so hot, but the
winter so cold? Har answered: A wise man would not ask such a question,
for all are able to tell this; but if you alone have become so stupid
that you have not heard of it, then I would rather forgive you for
asking unwisely once than that you should go any longer in ignorance of
what you ought to know. Svasud is the name of him who is father of
summer, and he lives such a life of enjoyment, that everything that is
mild is from him called sweet (svasligt). But the father of winter has
two names, Vindlone and Vindsval. He is the son of Vasad, and all that
race are grim and of icy breath, and winter is like them.
20. Then asked Ganglere: Which are the asas, in whom men are bound to
believe? Har answered him: Twelve are the divine asas. Jafnhar said:
No less holy are the asynjes (goddesses), nor is their power less. Then
added Thride: Odin is the highest and oldest of the asas. He rules all
things, but the other gods, each according to his might, serve him as
children a father. Frigg is his wife, and she knows the fate of men,
although she tells not thereof, as it is related that Odin himself said
to Asa-Loke:
Mad are you, Loke!
And out of your senses;
Why do you not stop?
Fortunes all,
Methinks, Frigg knows,
Though she tells them not herself.[31]
[Footnote 31: Elder Edda. Loke’s Quarrel, 29, 47.]
Odin is called Alfather, for he is the father of all the gods; he is
also called Valfather, for all who fall in fight are his chosen sons.
For them he prepares Valhal and Vingolf, where they are called einherjes
(heroes). He is also called Hangagod, Haptagod, Farmagod; and he gave
himself still more names when he came to King Geirrod:
Grim is my name,
And Ganglare,
Herjan, Hjalmbore,
Thek, Thride,
Thud, Ud,
Helblinde, Har,
Sad, Svipal,
Sangetal,
Herteit, Hnikar,
Bileyg, Baleyg,
Bolverk, Fjolner,
Grimner, Glapsvid, Fjolsvid,
Sidhot, Sidskeg,
Sigfather, Hnikud,
Alfather, Atrid, Farmatyr,
Oske, Ome,
Jafnhar, Biflinde,
Gondler, Harbard,
Svidur, Svidrir,
Jalk, Kjalar, Vidur,
Thro, Yg, Thund,
Vak, Skilfing,
Vafud, Hroptatyr,
Gaut, Veratyr.[32]
[Footnote 32: Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 46-50.]
Then said Ganglere: A very great number of names you have given him; and
this I know, forsooth, that he must be a very wise man who is able to
understand and decide what chances are the causes of all these names.
Har answered: Much knowledge is needed to explain it all rightly, but
still it is shortest to tell you that most of these names have been
given him for the reason that, as there are many tongues in the world,
so all peoples thought they ought to turn his name into their tongue, in
order that they might be able to worship him and pray to him each in its
own language. Other causes of these names must be sought in his
journeys, which are told of in old sagas; and you can lay no claim to
being called a wise man if you are not able to tell of these wonderful
adventures.
21. Then said Ganglere: What are the names of the other asas? What is
their occupation, and what works have they wrought? Har answered: Thor
is the foremost of them. He is called Asa-Thor, or Oku-Thor.[33] He is
the strongest of all gods and men, and rules over the realm which is
called Thrudvang. His hall is called Bilskirner. Therein are five
hundred and forty floors, and it is the largest house that men have
made. Thus it is said in Grimner’s Lay:
Five hundred floors
And forty more,
Methinks, has bowed Bilskirner.
Of houses all
That I know roofed
I know my son’s is the largest.[34]
[Footnote 33: Oku is derived from the Finnish thunder-god, Ukko.]
[Footnote 34: Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 24.]
Thor has two goats, by name Tangnjost and Tangrisner, and a chariot,
wherein he drives. The goats draw the chariot; wherefore he is called
Oku-Thor.[35] He possesses three valuable treasures. One of them is the
hammer Mjolner, which the frost-giants and mountain-giants well know
when it is raised; and this is not to be wondered at, for with it he has
split many a skull of their fathers or friends. The second treasure he
possesses is Megingjarder (belt of strength); when he girds himself with
it his strength is doubled. His third treasure that is of so great value
is his iron gloves; these he cannot do without when he lays hold of the
hammer’s haft. No one is so wise that he can tell all his great works;
but I can tell you so many tidings of him that it will grow late before
all is told that I know.
[Footnote 35: The author of the Younger Edda is here mistaken. See
note on page 82 {Footnote 33}.]
22. Thereupon said Ganglere: I wish to ask tidings of more of the asas.
Har gave him answer: Odin’s second son is Balder, and of him good things
are to be told. He is the best, and all praise him. He is so fair of
face and so bright that rays of light issue from him; and there is a
plant so white that it is likened unto Balder’s brow, and it is the
whitest of all plants. From this you can judge of the beauty both of his
hair and of his body. He is the wisest, mildest and most eloquent of all
the asas; and such is his nature that none can alter the judgment he has
pronounced. He inhabits the place in heaven called Breidablik, and there
nothing unclean can enter. As is here said:
Breidablik it is called,
Where Balder has
Built for himself a hall
In the land
Where I know is found
The least of evil.[36]
[Footnote 36: Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 12.]
23. The third asa is he who is called Njord. He dwells in Noatun, which
is in heaven. He rules the course of the wind and checks the fury of the
sea and of fire. He is invoked by seafarers and by fishermen. He is so
rich and wealthy that he can give broad lands and abundance to those who
call on him for them. He was fostered in Vanaheim, but the vans[37] gave
him as a hostage to the gods, and received in his stead as an
asa-hostage the god whose name is Honer. He established peace between
the gods and vans. Njord took to wife Skade, a daughter of the giant
Thjasse. She wished to live where her father had dwelt, that is, on the
mountains in Thrymheim; Njord, on the other hand, preferred to be near
the sea. They therefore agreed to pass nine nights in Thrymheim and
three in Noatun. But when Njord came back from the mountains to Noatun
he sang this:
[Footnote 37: Compare Vainamoinen, the son of Ukko, in the Finnish
epic Kalevala.]
Weary am I of the mountains,
Not long was I there,
Only nine nights.
The howl of the wolves
Methought sounded ill
To the song of the swans.
Skade then sang this:
Sleep I could not
On my sea-strand couch,
For the scream of the sea-fowl.
_There_ wakes me,
As he comes from the sea,
Every morning the mew.
Then went Skade up on the mountain, and dwelt in Thrymheim. She often
goes on skees (snow-shoes), with her bow, and shoots wild beasts. She is
called skee-goddess or skee-dis. Thus it is said:
Thrymheim it is called
Where Thjasse dwelt,
That mightiest giant.
But now dwells Skade,
Pure bride of the gods,
In her father’s old homestead.[38]
[Footnote 38: Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 11.]
24. Njord, in Noatun, afterward begat two children: a son, by name Frey,
and a daughter, by name Freyja. They were fair of face, and mighty. Frey
is the most famous of the asas. He rules over rain and sunshine, and
over the fruits of the earth. It is good to call on him for harvests and
peace. He also sways the wealth of men. Freyja is the most famous of the
goddesses. She has in heaven a dwelling which is called Folkvang, and
when she rides to the battle, one half of the slain belong to her, and
the other half to Odin. As is here said:
Folkvang it is called,
And there rules Freyja.
For the seats in the hall
Half of the slain
She chooses each day;
The other half is Odin’s.[39]
[Footnote 39: Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 14.]
Her hall is Sesrynmer, and it is large and beautiful. When she goes
abroad, she drives in a car drawn by two cats. She lends a favorable ear
to men who call upon her, and it is from her name the title has come
that women of birth and wealth are called frur.[40] She is fond of love
ditties, and it is good to call on her in love affairs.
[Footnote 40: Icel. _frú_ (Ger. _frau_; Dan. _frue_), pl. _frúr_,
means a lady. It is used of the wives of men of rank or title.
It is derived from Freyja.]
25. Then said Ganglere: Of great importance these asas seem to me to be,
and it is not wonderful that you have great power, since you have such
excellent knowledge of the gods, and know to which of them to address
your prayers on each occasion. But what other gods are there? Har
answered: There is yet an asa, whose name is Tyr. He is very daring and
stout-hearted. He sways victory in war, wherefore warriors should call
on him. There is a saw, that he who surpasses others in bravery, and
never yields, is Tyr-strong. He is also so wise, that it is said of
anyone who is specially intelligent, that he is Tyr-learned. A proof of
his daring is, that when the asas induced the wolf Fenrer to let himself
be bound with the chain Gleipner, he would not believe that they would
loose him again until Tyr put his hand in his mouth as a pledge. But
when the asas would not loose the Fenris-wolf, he bit Tyr’s hand off at
the place of the wolf’s joint (the wrist; Icel. _úlfliðr_[41]). From
that time Tyr is one-handed, and he is now called a peacemaker among
men.
[Footnote 41: This etymology is, however, erroneous, for the word
is derived from _oln_ or _öln_, and the true form of the word is
_ölnliðr_ = the ell-joint (wrist); thus we have _ölnboge_--the
elbow; _öln_ = _alin_ (Gr. ὠδίνη; Lat. _ulna_; cp. A.-S.
_el-boga_; Eng. _elbow_) is the arm from the elbow to the end of
the middle finger, hence an ell in long measure.]
26. Brage is the name of another of the asas. He is famous for his
wisdom, eloquence and flowing speech. He is a master-skald, and from him
song-craft is called brag (poetry), and such men or women as distinguish
themselves by their eloquence are called brag-men[42] and brag-women.
His wife is Idun. She keeps in a box those apples of which the gods eat
when they grow old, and then they become young again, and so it will be
until Ragnarok (the twilight of the gods). Then said Ganglere: Of great
importance to the gods it must be, it seems to me, that Idun preserves
these apples with care and honesty. Har answered, and laughed: They ran
a great risk on one occasion, whereof I might tell you more, but you
shall first hear the names of more asas.
[Footnote 42: Compare the Anglo-Saxon _brego_ = princeps, chief.]
27. Heimdal is the name of one. He is also called the white-asa. He is
great and holy; born of nine maidens, all of whom were sisters. He hight
also Hallinskide and Gullintanne, for his teeth were of gold. His horse
hight Gulltop (Gold-top). He dwells in a place called Himinbjorg, near
Bifrost. He is the ward of the gods, and sits at the end of heaven,
guarding the bridge against the mountain-giants. He needs less sleep
than a bird; sees an hundred miles around him, and as well by night as
by day. He hears the grass grow and the wool on the backs of the sheep,
and of course all things that sound louder than these. He has a trumpet
called the Gjallarhorn, and when he blows it it can be heard in all the
worlds. The head is called Heimdal’s sword. Thus it is here said:
Himinbjorg it is called,
Where Heimdal rules
Over his holy halls;
There drinks the ward of the gods
In his delightful dwelling
Glad the good mead.[43]
[Footnote 43: Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 13.]
And again, in Heimdal’s Song, he says himself:
Son I am of maidens nine,
Born I am of sisters nine.
28. Hoder hight one of the asas, who is blind, but exceedingly strong;
and the gods would wish that this asa never needed to be named, for the
work of his hand will long be kept in memory both by gods and men.
29. Vidar is the name of the silent asa. He has a very thick shoe, and
he is the strongest next after Thor. From him the gods have much help in
all hard tasks.
30. Ale, or Vale, is the son of Odin and Rind. He is daring in combat,
and a good shot.
31. Uller is the name of one, who is a son of Sif, and a step-son of
Thor. He is so good an archer, and so fast on his skees, that no one can
contend with him. He is fair of face, and possesses every quality of a
warrior. Men should invoke him in single combat.
32. Forsete is a son of Balder and Nanna, Nep’s daughter. He has in
heaven the hall which hight Glitner. All who come to him with disputes
go away perfectly reconciled. No better tribunal is to be found among
gods and men. Thus it is here said:
Glitner hight the hall,
On gold pillars standing,
And roofed with silver.
There dwells Forsete
Throughout all time,
And settles all disputes.[44]
[Footnote 44: Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 15.]