VIDAR.
Odin once saw and fell in love with the beautiful giantess Grid, who
dwelt in a cave in the desert, and, wooing her, prevailed upon her to
become his wife. The offspring of this union between Odin (mind) and
Grid (matter) was a son as strong as taciturn, named Vidar, whom the
ancients considered a personification of the primeval forest or of the
imperishable forces of Nature.
As the gods, through Heimdall, were intimately connected with the
sea, they were also bound by close ties to the forests and Nature in
general by Vidar, surnamed “the silent,” who was destined to survive
their destruction and rule over the regenerated earth. This god had his
habitation in Landvidi (the wide land), a palace decorated with green
boughs and fresh flowers, situated in the midst of an impenetrable
primeval forest where reigned the deep silence and solitude which he
loved.
“Grown over with shrubs
And with high grass
Is Vidar’s wide land.”
NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R. B. Anderson).
This old Scandinavian conception of the silent Vidar is very grand and
poetical indeed, and was inspired by the rugged Northern scenery. “Who
has ever wandered through such forests, in a length of many miles, in a
boundless expanse, without a path, without a goal, amid their monstrous
shadows, their sacred gloom, without being filled with deep reverence
for the sublime greatness of Nature above all human agency, without
feeling the grandeur of the idea which forms the basis of Vidar’s
essence?”
[Sidenote: Vidar’s shoe.]
Vidar was tall, well made, and handsome, had a broad-bladed sword, and
besides his armor wore a great iron or leather shoe. According to some
mythologists, he owed this peculiar footgear to his mother Grid, who,
knowing that he would be called upon to fight against fire on the last
day, thought it would protect him from all injury, as her iron gauntlet
had shielded Thor in his encounter with Geirrod. But other authorities
state that this shoe was made of the leather scraps which Northern
cobblers had either given or thrown away. As it was very important that
the shoe should be large and strong enough to resist the Fenris wolf’s
sharp teeth at the last day, it became a matter of religious observance
among Northern shoemakers to give away as many odds and ends of leather
as possible.
[Sidenote: The Norns’ prophecy.]
One day, when Vidar had joined his peers in Valhalla, they welcomed
him gaily, for they all loved him and placed their reliance upon him,
for they knew he would use his great strength in their favor in time
of need. But after he had quaffed the golden mead, Allfather bade him
accompany him to the Urdar fountain, where the Norns were busy weaving
their web. When questioned by Odin concerning his future and Vidar’s
destiny, the three sisters answered oracularly each by the following
short sentences:
“Early begun.”
“Further spun.”
“One day done.”
To which their mother, Wyrd, the primitive goddess of fate, added:
“With joy once more won.” These mysterious answers would have remained
totally unintelligible to the gods, had she not gone on to explain that
time progresses, that all must change, but that even if the father
fell in the last battle, his son Vidar would be his avenger, and would
live to rule over a regenerated world, after having conquered all his
enemies.
“There sits Odin’s
Son on the horse’s back;
He will avenge his father.”
NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R. B. Anderson).
At Wyrd’s words the leaves of the world tree began to flutter as if
agitated by a breeze, the eagle on its topmost bough flapped its wings,
and the serpent Nidhug for a moment suspended its work of destruction
at the roots of the tree. Grid, joining the father and son, rejoiced
with Odin when she heard that their son was destined to survive the
older gods and to rule over the new heaven and earth.
“There dwell Vidar and Vale
In the gods’ holy seats,
When the fire of Surt is slaked.”
NORSE MYTHOLOGY (R. B. Anderson).
Vidar, however, said not a word, but slowly wended his way back to his
palace Landvidi, in the heart of the primeval forest, where, sitting
down upon his throne, he pondered long about eternity, futurity, and
infinity. If he fathomed their secrets he never revealed them, for the
ancients averred that he was “as silent as the grave”--a silence which
indicated that no man knows what awaits him in the life to come.
Vidar was not only a personification of the imperishability of Nature,
but he was also a symbol of resurrection and renewal, proving that new
shoots and blossoms are always ready to spring forth to replace those
which have fallen into decay.
The shoe he wore was to be his defense against the wolf Fenris, who,
having destroyed Odin, would turn all his wrath upon him, and open wide
his terrible jaws to devour him. But the old Northerners declared that
Vidar would brace the foot thus protected against the monster’s lower
jaw, and, seizing the upper, would struggle with him until he had rent
him to pieces.
As one shoe only is mentioned in the Vidar myths, some mythologists
suppose that he had but one leg, and was the personification of a
waterspout, which would suddenly rise on the last day to quench the
wild fire personified by the terrible wolf Fenris.