Mythology of Germany, Great Britain, and
Scandinavia--Scandinavian Gods, Giants, and Elves--The
world Niflheim--The world Muspelheim--How Ymir was
created--The cow Aedhumla--Ymir's Offspring--Odin, the
chief God--Odin's Seat and Ravens--Valhalla--Queen
Frigga--How the Seas, Waters, Mountains, and Heavens
were made--Chariots and Horses in Heaven--Night and
Day--What a Wolf is to do--Three beautiful but
evil-disposed Maidens--Creation of New Beings--Bridge
between Midgard and Asgard--Sacred Fountain--Roots of
the ash Yggdrasil--Baldur's Dreams and sad End--Loki,
the Evil Spirit--Hel and her Brothers--Ignorance of
Giants, and Cunning of Dwarfs--Worship of Scandinavian
Gods--Norsemen and their Ancient Gods and
Goddesses--The Volsung Tale--Odin, Loki, and Haenir's
Wanderings--The Sword Gram--Sigurd's Exploits--What
the Worshippers of Odin believed--Frodi's Maidens and
Quern--Thor, and Subordinate Gods of the
Laplanders--Belief and Worship of the
Laplanders--Drums as Implements of Superstition--Sale
of Winds--Power of Demons--Lucky and Unlucky
Days--Other Superstitions.
The mythology of Germany, Great Britain, Scandinavia, and the other
northern nations is as extraordinary as that of Greece and Rome. Every
race and nation under the heavens were at one time steeped in
superstition to such an extent as to make people, living in
enlightened ages, wonder that creatures endowed with reasoning powers
should ever have given themselves over to such vile delusions as some
of our forefathers seem to have done. The adventures of the
Scandinavian gods, giants, and elves were not behind those of the gods
and supernatural beings in the south and east. In the beginning of
time, we are informed, a world existed in the north called Niflheim,
in the centre of which was a well from which sprang twelve rivers. In
the south was another world, Muspelheim--a light, warm, radiant world,
the boundary of which was guarded by Surt with a flaming sword. From
Niflheim flowed cold streams called Elivaager, which, hardening into
ice, formed one icy layer upon the other, within the abyss of abysses
that faced the north. From the south there streamed forth the
sparkling heat of Muspelheim; and as the heat and cold met, the
melting ice-drops became possessed of life, and produced, through the
power of him who had sent forth heat, Ymir, the sire of the frost
giants. Ymir obtained his nourishment from four milky streams that
escaped from the udders of the cow Aedhumla--a creature formed from
the melting frost. From Ymir there came forth offspring while he
slept, viz. a man and woman, who emerged from under his left arm, and
sons from his feet. Thus was produced the race of the frost giants.
Meantime, as the cow Aedhumla licked the frost-covered stones, there
came forth the first day a man's hair, a head the second day, and a
man, complete in all his parts, the third day. This man, Buri, had a
son named Bor, who married Beltsa, one of the giant race, by whom he
had three sons, Odin, Vili, and Ve.
Odin became the chief god, and ruled heaven and earth, and was
omniscient. As ruler of heaven, his seat was Valaskjalf, from whence
he sent two black ravens, daily, to gather tidings of all that was
being done throughout the world. As god of war, he held his court in
Valhalla, whither brave warriors went after death to revel in the
tumultuous joys in which they took pleasure when on earth. Odin had
different names and characters, as many of the gods had. By drinking
from Mimir's fountain, he became the wisest of gods and men. He was
the greatest of sorcerers, and imparted a knowledge of his wondrous
art to his favourites. Frigga was his queen, and the mother of Baldur,
the Scandinavian Apollo; but he had other wives and favourites, and a
numerous progeny of sons and daughters. All over Scandinavian lands,
but particularly in Denmark, the people imagine that they hear his
voice in the storm.
The other two brothers were less famous, but they were gods, and
assisted Odin to slay Ymir, and carry his body into the middle of
Ginnungagap, and formed from it the earth and heavens. Of his blood
the brothers made all the seas and waters, taking the gore that flowed
from his body to form the impassable ocean which is supposed to
encircle the earth. Of his bones they made the mountains, using the
broken splinters and his teeth for the stones and pebbles. From his
skull they made the heavens, at each of the four corners of which was
stationed a dwarf, of whom we shall hear more by-and-bye. Of Ymir's
brains clouds were formed, of his hair plants and herbs, and of his
eyebrows a wall of defence was made against the giants round Midgard,
the central garden or place of abode of the sons of men. The work of
the celebrated brothers was not ended by these achievements; for they
took the sparks that were cast out of the world Muspelheim, and,
throwing them over the face of the heavens, produced the sun, moon,
stars, and fiery meteors, and so arranged them in their places and
courses, that days, months, and years followed. Allfader placed
chariots and horses in heaven, where Night rode round the earth with
her horse Hrimfaxi, from whose bit fell the rime-drops that every
morning bedewed the earth. After her course followed her son Day, with
his horse Skinfaxi, from whose shining mane light beamed. Mani
directed the course of the moon, and Sol drove the chariot of the sun.
They were followed by a wolf, which was of the giant race, and that
will in the end of time swallow, or assist to swallow, up the moon,
darken the sun's brightness, let loose the boisterous winds, and drink
the blood of every dying man.
Three beautiful but evil-disposed maidens arrived at Asgard from the
giants' world, Jotunheim, by whom confusion and ill-will were spread
over the world. Then the gods determined to create new beings to
people the universe. They gave human bodies and understanding to
dwarfs, who had been generated within the dead body of Ymir, and who
took up their abodes in the bowels of the earth, in rocks, in stones,
and in trees and flowers. Then Odin, with two companions, went forth
on an excursion to the earth, and created a man and woman; and from
this pair, whose abode was at Midgard, the human race sprang. A bridge
of various colours, known to men as the rainbow, connected Midgard
with Asgard, and over this the gods rode daily to a sacred fountain.
This fountain lay at one of the three roots of the ash Yggdrasil,
whose branches spread over the whole earth and reached above the
heavens. Under one of these roots was the abode of Hel, the goddess of
the dead, under another that of the frost giants, and under the third
was the dwelling of human beings.
Baldur dreamt evil dreams of threatened danger to his life. He related
them to the gods, who endeavoured to protect him from injury. Frigga
made fire, water, iron, and all metals, stones, earth, plants, beasts,
birds, serpents, poison, and all diseases, swear that they would not
hurt Baldur. Loki was displeased at this. He changed himself into the
form of an old woman, and, inquiring the cause of Baldur's
invulnerability, was told by Frigga that all things, animate and
inanimate, had sworn not to harm him, with the exception of one little
shrub, the misletoe. Loki, rejoicing at the information he had
received, procured this little shrub, and hastened with it to an
assembly of the gods, where he placed it in the hands of the blind
Hoder, the god of war, who cast it at Baldur, and pierced him to the
heart. Hermoder, the son of Odin, offered to proceed to Hel to release
Baldur; and Hel, on hearing the request made, consented to let him go,
on condition that all things would weep for Baldur. All men, all
living beings, and all things wept except the witch Thock, who refused
to mourn for the departed god. Baldur was therefore compelled to
remain in Hel, where he will be to the end of the world.
Loki was beautiful, and possessed of great knowledge and cunning. He
often brought the gods into trouble, from which, however, through his
craft he extricated them. Hence he was regarded as the Evil Spirit.
Sometimes he was called Asa-Loki, to distinguish him from
Utgarda-Loki, a king of the giants, whose kingdom lay at the uttermost
limits of the earth.
Hel, who dwelt under one of the three roots of the sacred ash
Yggdrasil, was the daughter of the wicked Loki. Hel, together with her
brother, the wolf Fenrir, and the serpent Jormundgand, was brought up
in the giants' home of Jotunheim, where she remained until, at the
request of the gods, Allfader sent for her and her brothers to destroy
them, as it was known that by their origin they would prove the
instruments of calamity. After casting the serpent that surrounded all
lands into the deep ocean, he hurled Hel into Niflheim, and gave her
authority over nine worlds, in which she was to assign places to all
who died of sickness and old age. Her abode was surrounded by a high
enclosure and massive gates. She was of fierce aspect, was inexorable,
and would set no one at liberty who had once entered her domain. Her
dish was hunger, her knife starvation, her servants slow-moving, her
bed sickness, and her curtains wide-spread misery.
With Ymir perished all the giants except Bergelmir. It was a popular
belief that, through the power of giants, mountains and islands were
raised, and that, by these monsters, mountains and rocks were hurled
from their original sites. Notwithstanding the huge bulk and the
number of heads and arms that many of the giants had, they were
supposed to be ignorant monsters, unable to cope with ordinary human
beings.
The Dwarfs, of whom an account is given in the _Eddas_, were cunning
and crafty elves, and skilled in magic. Some gave them a place between
men and giants. It was believed that the dwarfs appeared under the
forms of elves, brownies, and fairies. They used charms, and possessed
all the skill of witches. It was in their power to raise storms, kill
people by their diabolical art, fly away with children, and even with
grown-up persons, through the air, or imprison them in caverns within
the earth. They assisted men to discover the precious metals, of which
they (the dwarfs) were very fond. Occasionally they were seen through
an aperture of a hill, in their underground retreat, in palaces with
jasper columns, surrounded with vast treasures of gold and silver.
The Scandinavian gods were worshipped in spacious temples, or on stone
heaps or altars. These sacred places were always near a consecrated
grove or tree and a sacred fountain. Human sacrifices were not
uncommon at times of public calamities, such as war, disease, or
famine. Three great festivals were held every year, the first of which
was celebrated at the new year, in the Yule-month. On these occasions
offerings were made to Odin for success in war, and to Freyr for a
peaceful year. The chief victim was a hog, which was sacrificed to the
latter god, on account of swine having first instructed man to plough
the soil. Feasting and games occupied the whole month, therefore it
was called the Merry Month. Yule continues to be observed in several
places at the present time, and points to the custom of sun worship
and the adoration of the early gods of the north. The frumenty eaten
on Christmas eve or morning in England, and the sowans in Scotland,
seem to be imitations of the offerings paid to Hulda or Berchta, to
whom the people looked for new stores of grain. The second festival
was in mid-winter, and the third in spring, when Odin was chiefly
invoked for prosperity and victory.
The mythology of the Scandinavians and our ancestors was in many
respects similar. It was from the principal gods of the northern
nations that the names of the days of our week were taken, as will
appear under the observations we shall make on the Calendar. But in
addition to the chief gods there were inferior deities, who were
supposed to have been translated to heaven for their great deeds, and
whose greatest happiness consisted in drinking ale out of the skulls
of their enemies in the hall of Wodin. The Norsemen delight to recount
the exploits of their ancient gods and goddesses and celebrated
mythical persons. The Volsung Tale is often referred to with pleasure.
Volsung, a descendant of Odin, was taken from his mother's womb by a
surgical operation, after six years' bearing. In his hall grew an oak,
whose branches spread out in every direction. In that hall, when
Volsung's daughter was to be given away to Siggeir, king of Gothland,
in came an old guest with one eye. In his hand he held a sword, which
at one stroke he drove up to the hilt in the oak. "Let him," said he,
"of this company who can pull it out, bear it, and none shall say he
bore a better blade." Having said this, he disappeared, and was seen
no more. Many tried to possess himself of the sword, but none could
draw it from the oak, till Sigmund, the bravest of Volsung's sons,
laid his hand upon its hilt. At his touch, it freed itself from the
mighty oak; and the sword turned out to be the celebrated blade Gram,
of which every Norseman has heard. Sigmund was armed with this weapon
when he went out to battle against his brother-in-law, who quarrelled
with him about this very sword; for every one who knew its virtues was
anxious to become its possessor. All perished in the fight except
Sigmund, who was saved by his sister Signy. Sigmund, after taking
vengeance against his brother-in-law, took possession of the kingdom,
which was his by inheritance. When Sigmund was stricken in years, he
went out to fight against the sons of King Hunding. Just as he was
about to prove victorious, a one-eyed warrior, of more than mortal
might, rushed at him with spear in hand. At the outstretched spear
Sigmund struck with his hitherto trusty blade, when it snapped in two.
In the one-eyed warrior's features he discovered the giver of the
sword, who was no less famous a personage than Odin. Sigmund then knew
that his good fortune had departed from him, and he sank down on the
battle-field and died.
There is a legend of Odin, Loki, and Haenir in one of their many
wanderings coming to a river side, where they saw an otter with a
salmon in its mouth. Loki killed the otter with a stone. Then the AEsir
passed on, and came at night to Reidmar's house to seek shelter. They
showed the otter and salmon to him, on which he cried to his sons to
seize and bind them, for they had slain their brother, Otter. To make
compensation for what they had done, they agreed to pay any sum
Reidmar might name. Otter was flayed, and Reidmar commanded the AEsir
to fill the skin with gold, and cover it without that not a hair could
be seen. Odin sent Loki down to the dwellings of the black elves to
obtain the precious metal. The cunning god caught Andvari, the dwarf,
and compelled him to surrender all the gold he had accumulated. The
dwarf begged and prayed that he might be permitted to retain one ring,
for it was the source of all his wealth, as ring after ring dropped
from it. Loki was inexorable; not a penny-worth would he leave with
the dwarf. Seeing he could not retain the ring, the dwarf laid a
curse on it, and said it would prove a bane to every one into whose
possession it might pass. Reidmar having all the gold except the ring
laid at his feet, filled the skin with the yellow ore, and set it up
on end. Odin poured gold over it until it was covered up. Reidmar
carefully looked at the skin, and declared that he saw a grey hair,
and desired them to cover it also. Odin reluctantly drew out the ring,
which he would fain have kept for himself, and laid it over the grey
hair. Before the AEsir departed, Loki repeated the curse which Andvari
had laid upon the ring. The curse began to take effect. Regin, one of
Reidmar's sons, asked for a share of the gold, but his father refused
to give him any. This undutiful son and his brother Fafnir conspired
against their sire, slew him, and took possession of the gold. Fafnir
being the stronger brother, determined to keep the whole treasure to
himself; and not only that, but he threatened that unless Regin went
off he would share his father's fate. Regin fled for his life, and his
brother assumed the form of a dragon, in which shape he lay on the
Glistening Heath, coiled round his store of gold and precious things.
Sigurd requested Regin, who was the best of smiths, to forge him a
sword. Two were made, but both broke at the first stroke. The broken
pieces of Gram were then obtained, and out of them Regin forged a
blade that clave the anvil in the smithy, and cut a lock of wool borne
down to it by a stream. Armed with Gram, and mounted on Gran, his
steed, which Odin had instructed him to choose, Sigurd rode to the
Glistening Heath, dug a pit in the dragon's path, and slew him as he
passed over him on his way to drink at the river. Sigurd roasted the
heart of Fafnir; and while it was being cooked, he tried it with one
of his fingers to see if it were soft. The hot roast burned his
finger, which caused him to put it to his mouth. He tasted the
dragon's blood, and instantly he understood the songs of birds.
Sigurd slew Regin, ate the heart, rode on Gran to Fafnir's lair, took
the spoil, and escaped with it.
On and on he rode, till on a lone fell he saw a flame; and when he
reached it, it blazed all around a house. No horse but Gran could pass
through that flame, and no man but Sigurd could guide him in his fiery
path. Brynhildr, Atli's sister, who in consequence of giving victory
on the wrong side had the thorn of sleep thrust into her cloak by
Odin, lay in the house in a deep sleep. She was under a curse to
slumber there until a man bold enough to ride through the fire came to
liberate her, and win her for his bride. Dashing onward to where the
fair maiden lay, his first touch wakened her from the long sleep to
which the cruel god had consigned her. They swore with a mighty oath
to love each other, and she taught him runes and wisdom.
Sigurd's mission was not yet accomplished; so on he rode to King
Giuki's hall, king of Frankland, whose queen was Grimhildr, who had
two sons named Gunnar and Hogni, and a step-son called Guttorm, and
whose daughter was the lovely Gudrun. Sigurd, greatly attached to his
lovely bride at the lone fell, purposed going back for her; but
Grimhildr, who was skilled in the black arts, longed for the brave
Volsung for her own daughter, and therefore prepared for him the
philter of forgetfulness. He quaffed it off, forgot Brynhildr,
fraternised with Gunnar and Hogni, and married Gudrun. Giuki now
wanted a wife for Gunnar, and the brothers with their bosom friend set
out to woo. They chose Brynhildr, whom they found still sitting on the
fell, waiting for Sigurd to come back. She had made it known, that
whoever could pass that flame should have her for his wife; so, when
Gunnar and Hogni reached the spot, the former rode at the flame, but
his horse swerved from the fierce fire; then, by Grimhildr's magic
arts, Sigurd and Gunnar changed shapes and arms, and Sigurd mounted
Gran, and the noble steed carried him through the flame. Thus
Brynhildr was wooed and compelled to yield. That evening they were
united in wedlock; but when they retired to rest Sigurd unsheathed
Gram, and laid it between them. Next morning, when he arose, he took
the ring which Andvari had laid under a curse, and which was among
Fafnir's treasures, and gave it to Brynhildr as a gift, and she gave
him another ring in return. Then Sigurd returned to his companions in
his own shape; and Gunnar went and claimed Brynhildr as his bride, and
carried her home. No sooner was Gunnar wedded than the power of the
philter ceased to operate: he remembered all that had passed, and the
oath he had sworn to the fair Brynhildr. When she discovered that she
had been deceived, she engaged Gunnar to revenge her wrong. By charms
and prayers the two brothers set on Guttorm, their half-brother, to
take vengeance, and the hero was pierced through with a sword while he
lay in Gudrun's white arms. Though Sigurd turned and writhed in agony,
he had strength left to hurl Gram after the treacherous Guttorm as he
fled. The keen blade cut him asunder, and his head rolled out of the
room. Brynhildr's love returned; and when Sigurd, who expired of his
wound, was laid upon the pile, her heart broke. She in song predicted
woes that were to come, made them lay her side by side with Sigurd,
with Gram between them, and so went to Valhalla with her old lover.
Andvari's curse was thus fulfilled.
The worshippers of Odin believed that at certain times the gracious
powers showed themselves in bodily shape, passing through the land,
and bringing blessings with them. On other occasions the gods were
supposed to ride through the air on clouds and storms, and speaking in
awful voice as the tempest howled and the sea raged. They were also
supposed to be present in battle, fighting for votaries, and defeating
the wicked. The goddesses assisted women in times of peril; they
taught the maids to spin, and punished them if the wool remained long
on the spindles. It was supposed that Odin had a band of followers who
accompanied him in the whirlwind. The wanderings of the gods are
mentioned in the _Odyssey_, and the sanctity of the rites of
hospitality, and the dread of turning a wanderer from the door,
originated lest the stranger should be a disguised being of exalted
character. Goddesses as well as gods were supposed to wander up and
down among men, telling them what was to happen. Freyja, the goddess
of love and plenty, who presided over marriages, was one of these, and
the three moons, Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, who determined the fate of
gods and men, were also among the number.
We are informed that in Frodi's house were two maidens of the old
giant race, whom he had bought as slaves, and he made them grind his
quern Grotti, out of which peace and gold were produced. He kept them
at the mill, not giving them any longer rest than the time the
cuckoo's note lasted. That quern turned out anything that the grinder
chose, though formerly it had ground nothing but peace and gold. The
maidens ground and ground without ceasing. As Frodi was deaf to their
cries for rest, they caused the quern to grind fire and war. While the
quern went on making these evils, Mysing, the sea rover, came at night
and slew Frodi and all his men, and carried away the hand-mill,
maidens and all. When at sea, the rover caused the maidens to grind
salt; and they performed their task until they ground as much as has
kept the sea salt ever since that time.
Thor was the chief god of the Laplanders. They had also subordinate
deities, one of which was Storjunkarr, their household god. Wirchu
Archa was a female deity worshipped by them. She was the goddess of
old women. These deities were represented under the figure of
unsculptured stones. Spirits, angels, and devils were worshipped by
those people. Souls of departed relations were also prayed to by the
more superstitious of the people. Magic was a famous art among them.
When sacrificing to Thor, they smeared the head of his image with the
victim's blood; and when they made an offering to Storjunkarr, a
thread was run through the right ear of the victim. When it was a
reindeer that was sacrificed, the horns, head, and other parts were
carried to a mountain devoted to Storjunkarr, and deposited there, the
animal's tail being tied to one of the horns, and a red thread to the
other.
The Laplanders used to sacrifice reindeers to the sun. In this
ceremony a white thread was put through the victim's right ear. In
sacrificing to the sun, willows were used, but in their other
sacrifices birch trees were employed. Many of their superstitions were
similar to those of the Greeks, Romans, and Tartars.
So much were the Laplanders given to superstition, that they
worshipped the first object that presented itself in the morning.
Every house and family had a deity. They had magical drums, which were
consulted in a particular manner on important occasions; and when they
engaged in battle, these drums were carried to the scene of action. In
consequence of their supposed virtue, writers have said that drums
were originally implements of superstition in our armies rather than
instruments of music. Brass and copper rings, together with a hammer,
were appended to a drum. A woman was not allowed to touch a sacred
drum, nor was she permitted to go over the same road that it was
carried, within three days of its removal.
Laplanders and Norwegians sold favourable winds to sailors and
travellers. A rope with three knots was given to the buyer, who, when
he wanted a gentle breeze, untied one of the knots; when he wished a
fresh strong wind, he undid another; and when he desired storms and
tempests, he unfastened the third. The first two descriptions of wind
were generally obtained for good purposes, but the third through
wicked motives. By the unloosing of the third knot, many a shipwreck
was caused to bring about the death of a hated individual, and for the
purpose of securing wreck cast ashore by the sea. Magicians could, the
moment they were born, control the winds that blew. In this way one
magician had power over the east wind, another of the south, a third
of the west, and a fourth of the north. Magical shafts, which went
through the air unseen, were thrown at enemies, and distempers were
caused by charms. Gans or demons were enticed by secret art to perform
acts of malice and deeds of revenge.
The Laplanders had their lucky and unlucky days. They thought it was
unlucky to meet a woman when they were going out to hunt. When a
Laplander died, the house was deserted by the family, because it was
supposed the soul of the deceased remained near the inanimate body.
When they buried their dead, they, like the ancient Danes, Saxons, and
others, deposited a hatchet, warlike implements, a steel, flint, and
tinder-box with each body, under the impression that they would be
useful to the deceased in another world. Their witches--and they had
many--who were born in winter, were supposed to be able to make that
season cold, or comparatively mild, as they pleased.
NAMES OF DAYS, WHENCE DERIVED.