SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY CONCLUDED.—ADVENTURES OF THOR, AND THE DEATH OF
BALDUR.
NEARLY all the deities have been noticed. The origin of night and day,
and the sun and moon are thus given. The giant Njörvi, who dwelt in
Jötunheim, had a daughter called Night,[29] who, like all of her race,
was of a dark and swarthy complexion. Night married a man named Annar,
and had a daughter called Earth.[30] She next espoused Delling, one of
the Æsir; and their son was Day,[31] a child light and beauteous like
its father. Odin then gave to Night and her son Day two horses and two
cars, and set them up in the heavens, to drive successively one after
the other round the world in twelve hours’ time. Night goes first,
driving the horse Hrimfaxi; and he, every morn, as he ends his course,
bedews the earth with foam that falls from his bit. Day follows with his
horse Skinfaxi; and from his mane light is shed over the earth and the
heavens. The man Mundilfari had two children so lovely and graceful that
he called the boy Máni (moon), and the girl Sol (sun). The gods, being
angry at the man’s presumption, placed his children in the heavens. The
bright and illuminated car of the sun, which the gods made out of the
sparks that fell from Muspelheim, to give light to the world, was drawn
by the horses Arvak and Alsvid, and driven by Sól. Máni was set to
direct the moon in his course, and guide his increasing and waning
aspect. Two wolves, Sköll and Hati, are constantly in pursuit of the sun
and moon; and it is on this account that they fly so swiftly through the
heavens. One day these wolves will overtake and devour them.
One of the gods is named LOKI; and to him is ascribed nearly all the
evil that is suffered in the world. He was the calumniator of the
Æsir, the contriver of frauds and mischief, and the disgrace of both
gods and men. He had a terrible offspring by Angurbodi, a giantess of
Jötunheim. These were, the wolf Fenrir, the Midgard serpent, and Hela,
or Death. The wolf Fenrir could only be fed by TYR, the god of Bravery,
who, as will be seen, was called the one-handed. Tyr is the most daring
and intrepid of the gods. He dispenses valor in battle, and his aid
is invoked by warriors. The gods were warned by the oracles, that the
power of the wolf was becoming dangerous; and Tyr attempted to make
a fetter to bind him. The first trial failed, the wolf snapping the
cords asunder as if they had been threads. Tyr next made the fetter
called Gleipnir, fashioning it out of six things; namely, the noise
made out of the foot-fall of a cat, the beards of women, the roots of
stones, the sinews of bears, the breath of fish, and the spittle of
birds. Though this cord was as fine and soft as silk, the wolf would
not consent to be bound with it, unless Tyr would let him take one of
his hands in his mouth. To this he consented; and the gods then bound
the wolf; and, finding he could not free himself by breaking the
fetter, he revenged himself by biting off the right hand of Tyr. When
the offspring of Loki were born, Odin sent for them; and after having
the wolf put in fetters, threw the Midgard serpent into the ocean
that surrounded the earth. Here the monster grew to such size that he
encircled the whole earth, with his tail in his mouth. HELA (Death)
was cast by Odin into Niflheim; and her abode is known as Helheim,
or Hel. Her habitation is surrounded by exceedingly high walls, and
strongly-barred gates. Her hall is called Elvidmir; Hunger is her
table; Starvation, her knife; Delay, her man; Slowness, her maid;
Precipice, her threshold; Care, her bed; and Burning Anguish forms the
hanging of her apartments.
The spirits of those who fell in battle, were carried at once to Odin,
in Valhalla—the hall of the slain; and on this account Odin is called
Val-father, or father of the slain. Those who die a natural death, or of
old age, were taken to Hel. These abodes, however, were not of eternal
duration, but only continued until Ragnarok—the final judgment and
destruction of the earth and all material things. Valhalla is not
represented as a place of unalloyed happiness, nor Hel of continued
misery; yet the former was far the most desirable abode. The joys of
Valhalla are imagined and pictured on the basis of all our ideas of
happiness in another world—the highest degree of felicity known in
this.[32]
The joys and employments in Valhalla, will consist of eating, drinking,
and fighting. The spirits of the slain will roam through the vast hall,
and eat and drink with the Æsir. The whole celestial banquet will
consist of ale, and the flesh of one wild boar, which, being cut off
every day, renews itself every night. The goddesses, or women, wait at
table, and fill the drinking horns. When the morning repast is over,
they all ride out into the plain, and fight, and cut one another to
pieces. They are, however, perpetually renewed; and, towards evening,
all resume their usual form, and return to drink ale together. Valhalla
was of immense size, had five hundred and forty doors, and was spacious
enough to contain the Æsir, and all the brave spirits that Odin called
to him from earth. In all the accounts of Hel and Valhalla, to be found
in the ancient Eddas, there is nothing that goes to prove that the
Scandinavians believed in a place of eternal punishment. One or two
brief passages from the Younger Edda are quoted, to show that such was
the case; but these are proved to have been interpolations in the
manuscript of the Edda, by a modern christian writer.
An early period is spoken of, called the Golden Age. Odin had
constructed a court, or hall, of great magnificence. It was resplendent
on all sides, within and without, with the finest gold. He appointed
rulers or judges, to judge with him the fate of men; and in the hall he
had twelve seats for them, besides his own throne. This court of justice
was called Gladsheim. Another edifice, a very fair structure, was
erected for the goddesses. This was called Vingolf. Lastly, a smithy was
built, and furnished with hammers, tongs, anvils, and all manner of
tools for working in wood, stone, and metal. All the movable things
belonging to the gods, were made of gold; and from this the period was
known as the Golden Age.
The age lasted until women arrived from Jötunheim, and corrupted it.
The exploits of Thor form the subjects of the most lengthy and
characteristic legends in the mythology of the Scandinavians. At one
time Ægir, the ocean deity, entertained all the gods in Asgard, giving
them a great feast, at the period of the autumnal equinox. He furnished
enough to eat, but drink was greatly wanting; for he had no vessel large
enough to brew ale for such a numerous company. Thor hearing that the
giant Hymir owned a famous cauldron of great size, he, in company with
Tyr, set out for Jötunheim, to obtain it, determined either by fair
means or foul to carry it away. After various adventures he gets it,
claps it on his head like a huge hat, and walks off with it, the ears of
the cauldron reaching down to his heels! The giants follow and attack
him; but he slays them all with his terrible mallet. Having obtained the
cauldron, Ægir brewed as much ale as was required; and Loki, Thor, and
all the company, have a regular drinking bout. It ended as such scenes
usually do—in a fight; and Loki killed one of Ægir’s servants, for which
he was expelled by the gods, and kicked out of doors. He was afterwards,
however, restored to his place.
Thor and Loki had a famous journey to Jötunheim, the land of the giants.
Thor, as usual, rode in his car drawn by two goats; and when night came
they put up at the cottage of a peasant, both the travelers assuming the
form and costume of men. Thor killed his goats, and after flaying them,
put them in a kettle to cook for their supper, and asked the peasant and
his family to partake with him. The peasant’s son was named Thjálfi, and
the daughter Röskva. Thor told them to throw all the bones into the
goats’ skins, which were spread out on the floor; but Thjálfi broke one
of the bones to get at the marrow. The next morning, Thor raised his
mallet, consecrated the goats’ skins, and they instantly assumed their
usual form, alive and well and ready to pursue the journey; but one of
the goats was found to be lame in one leg. To appease the anger of Thor,
the peasant offered any thing he possessed as a compensation. Thor chose
both his children; and ever after Thjálfi the Nimble and Röskva the
Quick were his attendants. They then continued their journey, passed out
of Mannheim, crossed a broad ocean, and entered a deep forest. They saw
a large hall, and, entering it, went to sleep in a deep room at one end.
During the night, there was an earthquake and a terrible roaring, which
shook the whole edifice. In the morning they found a giant of enormous
size, sleeping and snoring near them; and the vast edifice was his glove
which he had thrown off, and they had slept in the thumb of it. The
giant’s name was Skrymir, and when he awoke he knew Thor at once and
called him by name. He offered to carry the wallet of provisions and
relieve Thjálfi, and after breakfast they journeyed together. Thor,
wishing to get rid of his new fellow-traveler, when night arrived,
hurled his mallet at him after he was asleep; and it was buried deep in
his skull. Waking up, the giant asked if a leaf had fallen on his head.
He slept again, and Thor made two more efforts—once his mallet going
deep into his cheek; and again, burying it in his head up to the handle.
The giant merely put up his hand and asked if a bit of moss or an acorn
had fallen on him. He soon, however, left Thor, and pursued his journey
to the north. The travelers arrived at the city of Utgard, situated in a
vast plain, and immediately paid their respects to Utgard-Loki, the
king. His majesty looked at the Thunderer with great contempt, called
him a stripling, and said if he was not mistaken it must be Aku-Thor.
The king challenged Thor and his companions to try various feats of
skill and strength with his subjects, the giants of Jötunheim. Loki sat
down to a trough filled with meat, and to eat a race with a giant; but
he got vanquished, his competitor eating the most, and swallowing bones
and all. Thor then produced Thjálfi to run a race, and he was completely
distanced. Thor himself then attempted a drinking bout with the giants;
but at three long pulls he could not empty a single horn. He then tried
his hand at lifting; but though the giants only furnished a common gray
cat to be lifted, Thor could not raise him from the ground, only lifting
one foot a short distance. Then he tried wrestling; but though his
competitor was a wrinkled old woman, he could not throw her, but came
near being thrown himself. Thor confessed that he was vanquished, and
turned his steps away, being accompanied without the walls of the city
by his majesty Utgard-Loki, in person. Then the king tells Thor that, if
he has his way, the god shall never come into his place again, for he
fears him and only got the better of him that time by stratagem. He said
it was he that met him in the forest, and he had a mountain before him
when he slept; and if Thor would see it on his return, he would observe
two deep vallies where he buried his mallet, while he thought he struck
Utgard himself. The two immense glens that could be seen in the mountain
were but the dints of Thor’s mallet. In the contest of eating, the
competitor of Loki was Fire itself, that consumed all before it. Thjálfi
ran a race with Hugi—Thought—which flies faster than the fleetest being
that is created. The old woman who wrestled with Thor was Old Age, which
could in time lay every thing low. What appeared to be a cat, was the
great Midgard serpent, that encompassed the whole earth. The horn he
drank from extended to the sea itself; and in this he performed a most
prodigious feat, for he settled it greatly, as could be seen, and which
was called the ebb. Thor, on hearing how he had been vanquished by
stratagem, raised his mallet to strike down the giant; but on turning,
he had disappeared, and, instead of a city near by, he saw nothing but a
vast plain. This was the end of Thor’s adventures in Jötunheim. Then to
reëstablish his reputation, Thor went out to fish for the great Midgard
serpent. He took no companions, not even his car or goats. He traveled
in the guise of a young man, and put up at the house of a giant named
Hymir, who was going fishing; and he asked Thor to provide some bait. He
went into a herd of the giant’s oxen, and seizing the largest bull,
wrung off his head; and returning with it, the two put off to sea
together. They rowed much further than the giant had ever gone before;
and Thor, baiting a hook and line of great strength with the head of the
bull, cast it out. The Midgard serpent immediately swallowed it, and
Thor drew upon him. The scene was now most dreadful. Thor pulled so hard
that his feet broke through the boat, and went down to the bottom of the
sea. Thor darted looks of ire at the serpent, and he in turn spouted
floods of venom upon him. The giant turned pale with fright, took out
his knife and cut the line, when the serpent sunk under water. Thor then
grasped his mallet and hurled it at the monster; but he was low down in
the sea, and escaped, though some say his head was struck off at the
bottom of the ocean. Thor then, with his fist, hit the giant a blow
under the ear that knocked him out of sight; and then, with rapid
strides, he waded ashore.
Baldur the Good having dreamed that harm was to come to him, Friga, his
mother, hearing of it, exacted an oath from every thing, animate and
inanimate, stones, trees, fire, metals, and all living things, that they
would not hurt Baldur. One thing only was omitted—the misletoe. It was
then a favorite amusement for Baldur to stand up, and have the Æsir
throw at him their darts, javelins, battle-axes, and other missiles; for
none could harm him. Loki, under the guise of an old woman, hearing that
the misletoe had not taken the oath, gathered a branch, and calling
Hödur, the blind god, told him to hurl it at Baldur, saying he would
guide his arm, and it being only a twig, it could not hurt him. Hödur
threw it, under the guidance of Loki; and Baldur the Good was slain. The
gods were speechless with horror, looked at each other, and broke out
into violent lamentations of grief. Odin was most sensible of the great
loss the Æsir had suffered; and Friga asked who would gain her love and
good will by riding to Hel, and trying to find Baldur, and offer to Hela
a ransom for his return to Asgard. Hermod offered his services, and
left, mounted on Odin’s famous horse, Sleipnir. While Hermod was on this
mission, Baldur’s body was borne to the sea shore to be burnt. His ship
Hringhorn, the largest in the world, was required for a funeral pile;
but no one could move it, till they sent to Jötunheim for a famous
giantess named Hyrrokin. She came mounted on a wolf, with twisted
serpents for a bridle, and with one push moved the vessel as they wanted
it. Baldur’s body was borne to the funeral pile on board the ship; and
the ceremony had such an effect on Nanna, that she died of grief, and
her body was burned on the same pile with her husband’s. Thor hallowed
the pile with his mallet, and during the ceremony kicked a dwarf into
the fire, because he ran before him. At Baldur’s obsequies was a vast
concourse. First, there was Odin, with Friga, the valkyrjor, and his
ravens; then Frey, in his car drawn by the boar with golden bristles.
Heimdall rode his horse, Gulltopp; Freyja drove in her chariot drawn by
cats. There were also present many Frost-giants and giants of the
mountains. Baldur’s horse, fully caparisoned, was burned along with the
body of his master.
Hermod pursued his journey till he arrived at the gates of Hel, and
found them barred. He alighted, tightened the girths, mounted, put spurs
to the horse, and at one leap sprang over the gate without touching. He
found Baldur occupying the most distinguished seat in the hall; and
after spending a night with him, asked Hela (death) to let Baldur return
to Asgard. She said she would consent to it, provided Baldur was so
beloved that every thing would weep for him. Hermod then returned,
bearing a gold ring as a present to Odin from Baldur, and some valuable
gifts from Nanna to Friga. Every thing wept for Baldur, except one old
woman, who refused. This was found to be Loki in disguise, who never
ceased to work evil among the Æsir. To escape the wrath of the gods,
Loki changed himself into a salmon, was pursued down a river, and in
leaping a net was caught by Thor in his hands. The gods then confined
him in a cavern, with a serpent directly over him; and as the venom
drops on him, he writhes and howls, and this makes that shaking of the
earth that men call earthquakes. Loki’s two children were taken, and one
changed to a wolf; and he immediately devoured the other.
The end of all material things is known as Ragnarök,—the twilight of the
gods, and conflagration of the universe. The world becomes corrupt; a
wolf devours the sun, and another wolf the moon; trees fall, and
mountains tumble to pieces. The wolf Fenrir opens his enormous mouth,
the lower jaw being on the earth, and the upper reaching to heaven; the
Midgard serpent gains the land, and heaven is cleft in twain. The sons
of Muspell ride through the breach, led by Surtur, in the midst of
flaming fire. Bifröst breaks in pieces, and a vast assemblage gathers on
the battle-field of Vigrid, which is a hundred miles long. Heimdall
stands up, and, with all his might, blows a blast on the Gjallar-horn,
which arouses all the gods. Odin asks advice of Mimir; the Æsir, and all
the heroes of Valhalla, led by the All-father, go forth to the field of
battle. The ash, Yggdrasill, begins to shake; a dissolution of all
things is at hand. Odin places himself against the wolf Fenrir, and Thor
encounters the Midgard serpent. Frey meets Surtur, and they exchange
terrible blows; but Frey falls, as he has been without his trusty sword
ever since he fell in love with Gerda. The dog, Garm, that had been
chained in a cave, breaks loose, and attacks Tyr, and they kill each
other. Thor slays the Midgard serpent, thereby gaining great renown;
but, retiring nine paces, he falls dead on the spot, being suffocated
with the venom that the dying serpent throws over him. Odin is swallowed
by the wolf; and Vidar, coming up, with his foot on the lower jaw and
his hand on the upper, he tears the animal’s jaws apart, and rends him
till he dies. Loki and Heimdall fight, and kill each other. This most
terrible battle being over, Surtur darts fire and flame over the world,
and the whole universe is consumed by it. A heaven, and many abodes,
both good and bad, are supposed to exist after this; for the spirits of
all who have lived are immortal. A new earth, most lovely and verdant,
shall rise out of the sea, and grain shall grow unsown. During the
conflagration, a woman named Lif (Life) and a man named Lifthrasir, lie
concealed in Hodmimir’s forest. They feed on morning dew, and their
descendants soon cover the earth again. Vidar and Vali survive the
conflagration, and dwell on the plain of Ida, where Asgard formerly
stood. Thither went the sons of Thor, Modi and Magni, carrying with them
their father’s mallet, Mjölnir. Baldur and Hödur repaired thither from
the abode of death (Hel) and there they hold converse on their past
perils and adventures. A famous ship, called Skidbladnir, is spoken of,
that is so large that it would hold all the Æsir, and their weapons. It
was built by the dwarfs, and presented to Frey; and, being constructed
of many pieces and with great skill, when not wanted Frey could fold it
up like a piece of cloth and put it in his pocket. In the language of
the Edda,
The ash, Yggdrasill,
Is the first of trees;
As Skidbladnir of ships,
Odin of Æsir,
Sleipnir of steeds,
Bifröst of bridges,
Bragi of bards,
Hábrok of hawks,
And Garm of hounds, is.
FOOTNOTES:
-----
Footnote 29:
Nót.
Footnote 30:
Jörð.
Footnote 31:
Dagr.
Footnote 32:
The learned and enlightened Christian imagines Heaven as a place or
state of being, where evil, sin, and pain are unknown; and where the
celestial employments will consist of investigating the works of the
Creator, and glorifying his name. The poor Indian dreams of pleasant
hunting-grounds—some happy island in the watery waste—and thinks,
——“admitted to that equal sky,
His faithful dog shall bear him company.”
An old lady who had just “experienced religion,” was asked what she
thought would be the employments of the good in heaven; or how they
would pass their time. She replied, that she thought she would be
permitted to sit all day, in a clean, white apron, and sing psalms. We
need not smile at the simplicity of the good old dame; for, is it not
probable that the celestial labors and enjoyments will as far exceed
the ideas of the most learned Christian, as his imagination goes
beyond that of the good woman, or the rude joys of the unlettered
savage?