SUPERSTITIONS.—OMENS.
Belief in omens—The sight of blood on food a foreboding of
violent death—Blood dripping from weapons a sign of fierce
conflict—Peculiar appearances of the moon—Ravens—Howling
wolves—Stumbling when going to fight—The second song of Sigurd
Fafnisbani—Supernatural beings—Visions.
The people were strong believers in omens, to which they paid great
attention, and which were supposed to be seen by persons when awake or
in their dreams. Some omens repeated themselves before recurring events
of the same kind.
If any one imagined that he saw blood on his food, or that his food
disappeared, he expected a speedy and violent death;[415] and it was a
common belief that blood dripping from weapons, or their sounding loud
when used, foreboded a fierce battle or conflict.[416]
“He (Hildiglúm) heard a crash so loud that he thought both earth and
heaven shook from it. Then he looked into the west, and saw a ring with
the colour of flame, and in it a man on a grey horse. He passed quickly;
and had a burning firebrand in his hand. He rode so near him that he
could easily see him. He was black as pitch. He sang this stanza with a
loud voice:—
I ride on a
Rime-frost maned horse,
With dewy wet mane,
Causing evil;
Fire is in the ends of the brand.
Poison in the middle;
Thus is it with Flosi’s plan
As if a stick were thrown,
Thus is it with Flosi’s plan
As when a stick is thrown.
It seemed to him that he flung it eastward to the mountains, and that
such fire rose from it that he did not see the mountains for it. It
seemed to him the man rode eastward to the fire and disappeared there.
Then he went in to his bed, and fell in a long swoon, but woke from it.
He remembered all that had passed before his eyes, and told it to his
father, who asked him to tell it to Hjalti Skeggjason. He went to Hjalti
and told him. ‘Thou hast seen a _gandreid_,’[417] said Hjalti, ‘and it
always forebodes great tidings’” (Njala, c. 125).
Before the burning of Njal the following omen, which proved true,
appeared at his farm Bergthorshval:—
“Bergthóra (his wife) carried food to the table. Njal said: ‘Strange
does this look to me now; I think I look all over the room, and that
both the gable-walls are off, and the table and the food all covered
with blood.’ All except Skarphédin were startled at this. He asked them
not to grieve or look sorrowful so that people would talk of it” (Njala,
c. 127).
“It happened when Gunnar and Kolskegg rode towards Rangá that blood fell
on the halberd of Gunnar. Kolskegg asked why this was so. Gunnar
answered that when this happened in other countries it was called
blood-rain, and Olver bondi in Hising said that this usually foreboded
great tidings” (Njala, c. 72).
Among these omens must be reckoned the so-called _Urdarmáni_ (the moon
of Urd), a peculiar kind of appearance of the moon which foreboded the
death of many people.[418] There were also natural omens, good and bad.
It was considered a good omen if a warrior saw a raven follow him when
going to fight—the interpretation probably being that the raven followed
a victor in order to eat the corpses of the enemy; it was also a good
omen to see or meet two men conversing, or to hear a wolf howl. When a
man who was slain by any kind of weapon fell on his face it was thought
to be an omen that he would be revenged, and the vengeance would come
down upon the man who stood just in front of him when he fell;[419] but
to stumble when going to fight, or to hear the croaking of ravens, was
considered a bad omen.
The second song of Sigurd Fafnisbani relates how Sigurd was going to
make war on the sons of Hunding. As he sailed along the coast a man
stood on a rock and asked him who they were. They answered, and when
they asked who he was he said he was called _Hnikar_ (one of Odin’s
names), but they might call him the man of the rock, _Feng_ or _Fjölnir_
(Odin’s names). He went on board and the storm ceased.
_Sigurd sang_
Tell me, Hnikar,
As thou knowest both
The luck of gods and men,
Which are best
If one should fight
Omens at the swoop of swords.
_Hnikar._
Many warnings are good
If men knew them
At the swoop of swords;
I think the following
Of the black raven
Is good for a _sword-tree_.[420]
A second (warning) is,
If thou hast walked out
And art ready on thy way,
And thou seest
Standing on the path
Two men anxious to praise thee.
A third is that
If thou hearest a wolf
Howl under ash-branches.
Good luck wilt thou get
Against _helmet-staffs_[420]
If thou seest the wolves ahead.
No man should fight
With his face against
The late shining
Sister of the moon;[421]
Those gain victory
Who are able to see
The feats of the sword-play,
Or can array in wedge-shape.[422]
It is a great danger
If thou stumblest
When thou rushest into fight;
Faithless _Disir_
Stand on either side of thee
And long to see thee wounded.
Combed and washed
Should every wise man be,
And well fed in the morning,
For it is uncertain
Where he may be at night;
It is bad to hurry ahead of one’s luck.
“One morning a raven came to the lighthole at Brekka, and croaked
loudly; then Hromund sang—
Outside I hear in the morning twilight
The dark blue swan[423] of the sweat of the wound-thorn[424] croak;
The prey wakes the wary-minded one;[425]
Thus of yore screamed
The hawk of Gunn[426] before
Chiefs were death-fated,
When the birds of Gaut[427] foretold the fray.
_Thorbjorn._
The hail-sprinkled gull[428] of the wave of heaps of slain
Screams when it comes from the sea;
Its mind craves
The prey of the morning;
Thus of yore screamed
The bird of corpses
From the old tree
When the hawks wanted the mead of kings.[429]
_Hromund._
Tree of the shield,[430]
Death was not fated to me
To-day or yesterday;
I[431] make ready for the sound of Ilm.[432]
I care little though plays
The dyed wand of Hedin’s cloth[433]
Against red shields;
To us life was marked before.”
(Landnama, ii. c. 33.)
When there was to be an important event there were always some omens
before it took place, in the shape of visions, or supernatural beings
who sang songs which foretold the event.
It foreboded a violent death if a man saw his _fylgja_ bloody.
“Once Njal and Thórd (his servant) were outside the farm. A he-goat was
in the habit of going about the grass-plot on the farm, and no one was
allowed to drive it away. Thórd said, ‘This is strange.’ Njal asked,
‘What dost thou see which seems strange?’ He answered, ‘It seems to me
that the he-goat lies here in the hollow place, and is bloody all over.’
Njal replied there was no he-goat there, nor anything else. ‘What is it,
then?’ inquired Thórd. ‘Thou must be a death-fated man, and hast seen
thy _Fylgja_,’ said Njal, ‘and guard thyself well.’ ‘That will not
help,’ added Thórd, ‘if death is fated to me’” (Njala, c. 41).
“It is said that King Gorm once invited to a Yule-feast his
father-in-law Harald, who promised to come in the winter, and the
messengers so reported.
“When the time for preparation came the Jarl chose such followers to the
feast as he wanted. Knut went with him, but it is not said how many men
he had. They arrived at the Limafjord, and as they were about to cross
it they saw there an oak which appeared somewhat unusual. There were
growing on it acorns, which were small and quite green, but under it lay
others both ripe and large. At this they wondered much, and the Jarl
thought it very strange that there should be green acorns at that time
of the year, for there lay near the oak those which had grown during the
summer. ‘We will go back,’ said the Jarl, ‘and proceed no farther.’ He
thereupon returned home, where he remained with his hird the next
season. The King deemed it strange that the Jarl did not come, but
thought something important had prevented him. All was quiet during the
summer, and when winter came the King invited the Jarl to the
Yule-feast, as in the previous year. The Jarl promised to go, as before,
and when the time came departed with his followers, and journeyed until
he came to the Limafjord. He had now come on board, and intended to
cross the fjord. It is said that they had with them pregnant bitches.
After they had got on board the Jarl thought he heard the whelps in the
bellies of the bitches barking, while the mothers themselves were
silent. This the Jarl and all regarded as the greatest wonder, and they
therefore turned back, and stayed at home during that Yule. On the third
winter the King again invited the Jarl, who promised to come; and when
the time came he departed, and journeyed until he arrived at the
Limafjord, resolving to remain there overnight. Then a sight presented
itself which was thought very strange. They saw a wave rise within, and
another without, the fjord, and the two advanced to meet each other. The
waves were large and made a great noise when they met and fell together;
then it seemed as if the sea became bloody. Then the Jarl said, ‘This is
a fearful portent, and we must turn back and not accept the invitation.’
This they did, and the Jarl remained at home also that Yule....
“It was resolved that the King should send messengers to the Jarl to
ascertain why he had not come. The Queen advised that they should first
meet and talk to him, and thus see what the reason was. When the
messengers told the Jarl of their errand, he quickly got ready and went
to visit Gorm with a fine retinue. The King received his father-in-law
well, and quickly went to speak with him. The King asked why he had not
once come at his bidding, and thus shown disrespect to the King and his
invitation. The Jarl replied that he had meant no disrespect, but had
not once come to the feast, because other things had prevented him. He
then told the wonders which they had seen, as mentioned before, and
asked if he would like to know what he thought each wonder meant. To
this the King assented. The Jarl then said: ‘I will first take that one
where we saw an oak with small green acorns, with the old and large ones
underneath. That I think must foretell a change of belief which will
come over these lands, which will flourish more, and the fine acorns
foretell that; but the present belief is betokened by the old acorns on
the ground, and they will rot and become mere dust; this belief will
also fall and be destroyed when the new one rises. The second wonder was
when we heard the whelps bark in the bitches. That I think must foretell
that young men will take the words from the mouths of the older, and
become so reckless that they will have no less to say, though the older
are oftener wiser in counsels. And I think that those of whom this will
be true have not yet come into the world, for the whelps which barked
while the mothers were silent were yet unborn.
“‘The third, when we saw the waves, one from the outer part, and the
other from the inner part of the fjord, meet midways and fall each on
the other’s neck, and the water become bloody from the disturbance
therefrom forebodes, I think, that some enmity will arise between great
men within the country, whence will come fights and much disturbance. It
is very likely that some offshoot of this war will take place at the
Limafjord, because it is there we have seen these wonders of which I
have spoken.’
“King Gorm was satisfied with the words of the Jarl, and thought him
wise; he gave him peace, and his anger departed. It is said that before
they went into the speech-room the King had set men to slay the Jarl, if
haughtiness and disrespect were the only reasons for his not coming to
the feast when invited; but the King now thought he had good cause for
not coming. They went away from the speech-room, and the Jarl remained
with him for a while. They then separated in peace, and the Jarl
received good gifts. He left with his followers, and had a good journey
home.
“A short time after Klakkharald gave his foster-son and kinsman Knut all
his realm, and Knut took the rule of Holtsetaland and all the realms of
Harald Jarl.
“The Jarl made ready to leave, and began his journey southward to
Valland. He there embraced Christianity, and never returned to Denmark”
(Flateyjarbók, vol. i.).