Scandinavian Mythology. The sources to be examined in regard to Scandinavian mythology are many and varied. Throughout the Scandinavian countries are found monumental stones on which runic inscriptions have been written in heathen times. Of these 'runic monuments' no less than three folio volumes have been published by George Stephens, a work of great importance to the student of mythology. From heathen Germany we have a few ancient laws, and a few glossaries containing mythological words. The Lex Salica, of which we have a Latin translation, was doubtless originally produced in the German tongue. Then there are formulæ by which the new converts to Christianity renounced the old gods, and in which names of heathen divinities therefore occur. But precious though it be, the amount of mythological information to be gathered from these and similar sources is very small. A richer vein of information is the tolerably well-represented collection of German heroic poems, among which the most important are the Niblung story and Gudrun. The Heliland preserves a number of heathen phrases and figures of speech. The Anglo-Saxon Beowulf poem would be more valuable had not the transcriber conceived it to be his duty to omit the names of the heathen gods occurring in the lay. Iceland is the Mecca to which all must turn who would understand the Odinic religion; Iceland is the Patmos where Scandinavian mythology was recorded. There we find a large mythological literature put in writing after the introduction of Christianity (1000 A.D.), and after the people had adopted the Roman
Copyright 1892 in U.S.
by J. B. Lippincott
Company. alphabet, but still written in the spirit of the asa-faith, 'naught extenuating and putting down naught in malice.' The most important of the Icelandic documents are the Elder or Poetic Edda and the Younger or Prose Edda. The Heimskringla, completed by Snorre Sturlason about the year 1230, contains much information concerning Scandinavian heathendom, for it gives a very elaborate account of the introduction of Christianity in the north, portraying the conflict between the old and the new religion, and begins with sketches of a number of kings who ruled Norway 140 years before the introduction of Christianity. Hence valuable information may be found in that work not only in regard to the rites and ceremonies prescribed by the Odinic ritual, but also of the morals and habits inculcated and produced by the Odinic code. Several of the Icelandic sagas are also of value in this respect. Cæsar and Tacitus furnish some important data, and next after them come the Christian writers down through the foggy and dark middle ages, who wrote in Latin; but the very small amount of mythological information contained in their books is due in part to their ignorance, but mainly to their hostility to the heathen religion. Among this class of writers Denmark presents a remarkable exception in Saxo Grammaticus, who lived in Denmark in the 12th century. He wrote a Historia Danica, and embodied in it an outline of Scandinavian mythology based on old songs. But he presents it as history, assuming Odin, Thor, and the other deities to have been kings and potentates in the north. The first eight books of his history are exclusively mythological. Saxo had a world of valuable light, though he himself saw nothing. Finally the student of Scandinavian mythology must look for fragments of Odinism in the customs, habits, speech, traditions, ballads, folklore tales, and in the usages of the Christian churches throughout Tentondom.
It was Time's morning
When Ymer lived;
There was no sand, no sea,
Nor cooling billows;
Earth there was none,
No lofty heaven;
No spot of living green;
Only a deep profound.
Thus the Elder Edda. The beginning was this: Many ages ere the earth was made there existed two worlds. Far to the north was Niflheim—i.e. the nebulous world, and far to the south was Muspelheim—i.e. the fire world. Between them was Ginungagap, the yawning deep. In the middle of Niflheim lay the spring Hvergelmer, and from it flowed twelve ice-cold streams called the Elivogs (Elivagar), of which Gjol was situated nearest Hel's gate. Muspelheim was so bright and hot that it burned and blazed, and could only be entered by those who had their home there. In the midst of this intense light and burning heat sat Surt, guarding its borders with a flaming sword in his hand. The Elivogs flowed far from their spring-head in Hvergelmer into Ginungagap, and the venom they carried with them hardened as does dross from a furnace, and became ice. Vapours gathered and froze to rime, and thus were formed in the yawning gap many layers of congealed vapour. But the south side of Ginungagap was lighted up by sparks from Muspelheim. Thus, while freezing cold and gathering gloom proceeded from Niflheim, the other side of the gulf was exposed to the dazzling radiance and scorching blasts from Muspelheim, and when the heated blasts met the frozen vapours they melted into drops, and, by the might of him who sent the heat, these drops quickened into life and took the form of a giant man. His name was Ymer, and he became the progenitor of all the evil race of giants. At the same time and in the same manner sprang into life a cow, Audhumbla, by whose milk Ymer was nourished. The cow fed herself by licking the salt rime on the rocks, and at the end of the first day she produced by licking the stones a man's hair, on the second evening a head, and on the third evening a perfect man. His name was Bure. He was fair, great, and mighty. He begat a son by name Bor. Bor married the giantess Bestla, and she bore him three sons, Odin, Vile, and Ve (Spirit, Will, and Holiness), and Odin became the father of the gods, who rule heaven and earth. The three brothers, Odin, Vile, and Ve, slew the giant Ymer, and when he fell so much blood flowed that all the race of giants were drowned excepting Bergelmer and his wife, who escaped in a boat and perpetuated their race. The three sons of Bor dragged Ymer's body into Ginungagap, and out of it they made the world: of his flesh the land, of his blood the ocean, of his bones the rocks, of his hair the forests, of his skull the vaulted sky, which they decorated with red hot flakes from Muspelheim to serve as sun, moon, and stars. Ymer's brain they scattered in the air, and made of it the melancholy clouds. Dwarfs quickened like maggots in Ymer's flesh. But there were yet no human beings upon the earth. One day Odin, Hœner, and Loder were walking by the sea, and found two trees, an ash and an elm. They made of them the first man and woman. Odin gave them the breath of life (önd), Hœner gave them feeling (öð), and Loder gave them blood and the form (image) of the gods (lú ok lito góða). The man they called Ask and the woman Embla, and from them are descended the whole human family.
It is worthy of note that the world does not pass from chaos to cosmos. The old Scandinavians took a step farther back into primeval time, and conceived first a pre-chaotic state (Muspelheim, Niflheim, and Ginungagap), then a chaotic epoch (Ymer, Audhumbla, Bure, Bor, Bestla, Bøthorn, Odin, Vile, and Ve), and finally cosmos made from Ymer slain. The gods belonging to the Asgard pantheon and also giants came into being in the chaotic epoch. Odin was born in chaos. But the Scandinavian mythology conceived living and life-giving beings in the pre-chaotic age also. Surt guarded Muspelheim before any creation or birth had taken place. Surt is also the last figure who appears in Ragnarok, where he flings fire and flame over the world, and he is the last one who appears in that terrible act of the drama. The Edda says that Nidhug, a terrible serpent, dwelt in Hvergelmer in Niflheim. Venom flowed with the Elivogs rivers out of Hvergelmer. This points to an evil being in pre-chaotic Niflheim. This dualism in the pre-chaotic epoch is a very interesting point in Scandinavian mythology. The Odinic pantheon has twelve gods to whom divine worship is due, and there are twenty-six goddesses. The twelve gods are Odin, Thor, Balder, Hermod, Tyr, Brage, Heimdall, Hoder, Vidar, Uller, Vale, and Forsete. The asa-god Hœner disappears from the circle of gods, having been given as a hostage to the Vans. To the number of gods must however be added Njord and Frey, who originally were Vans, and also Loke, who was of giant descent, but had entered into foster-brotherhood with Odin himself, and was adopted by the gods. Chief among the goddesses is Odin's wife Frigg; Thor's wife is Sif, Balder's is Nanna, and Brage's is Idunn. Freyja is the goddess of love. The gods and goddesses dwell in Asgard, but nearly every one has a separate dwelling. Odin's high-seat is in Hlidskjalf, whence he looks out upon all the nine worlds. He also has a large hall, the famous Valhall, whither he invites all men fallen in battle. Thor lives in Thrndvang, Balder in Breidablik.
Concerning the different gods, and particularly about Thor, Odin, Balder, and Frey, there are a number of myths giving accounts of their exploits.
The most poetical and significant myth is that of the great world-tree, the ash Ygdrasil. It is the tree of existence, the tree of life and knowledge, the tree of grief and fate, the tree of time and space; it is the tree of the universe. This tree has three roots extending into the three principal worlds. The lowest strikes down into Nifheim into the well Hvergelmer, where it is gnawed by the ancient dragon Nidhug and all his reptile brood. The second root stretches into Jotunheim to the fountain of Mimer, where wisdom and wit lie hidden, and of whose waters Odin once purchased a draught, leaving one of his eyes as a pledge with Mimer. The third root is found in Asgard among the gods, near the sacred fountain of Urd the norn of the past, where the gods sit in judgment, riding thither daily over the Bifrost bridge—i.e. the rainbow. At this fountain dwell the three norns Urd (the Past), Verdande (the Present), and Skuld (the Future), and dispense the destinies of men. They weave the web of men's lives. It is a web of golden thread from east to west, from the radiant dawn to the glowing sunset of man's horizon. The wool of this web is fixed in the far north, but the web woven by Urd and Verdande is torn into pieces every evening by Skuld. The branches of Ygdrasil spread over the whole world and aspire above heaven itself. An eagle is perched on the topmost bough, and between his eyes a hawk. A squirrel called Ratatosk runs up and down the tree seeking to cause strife between the eagle and Nidhug. Four stags leap beneath its branches, and feed on its buds. Two swans swim in the Urd fountain, and everything placed therein becomes as white as the film of an egg-shell. The norns draw water from the spring, and with it they sprinkle Ygdrasil in order that the boughs may continue green in spite of the destructive agencies that constantly assail it. Honey-dew falls from Ygdrasil, and is food for the bees. Odin hung nine nights on this tree and offered himself to himself.
In Scandinavian mythology there is a very elaborate development of the evil principle. The dragon Nidhug and his brood originated in Hvergelmer in Nifheim. The giant descendants of Ymer were evil, and they did not all perish in his blood-deluge, for Bergelmer and his household escaped and produced a numerous offspring, with whom Thor and the other gods carried on a constant war. But the great type or representation of evil is Loke. He is the instigator of all the misfortunes that have happened both to gods and to men. He is of giant race, but was adopted by the gods, and was already in the dawn of time a foster-brother of Odin. The countenance of Loke is fair, but his disposition is thoroughly bad. Loke frequently accompanies the gods, and they make use of his strength and cunning, and when out of sight he usually plots with the giants for the purpose of bringing ruin upon the gods. He became the father of three terrible children in Jotunheim—i.e. in the home of the giants. These are (1) the Fenriswolf, (2) the Midgard-serpent, and (3) Hel, the goddess of death. The gods knew that these children of Loke were growing up, and would some day cause them great mischief. Therefore they bound the Fenriswolf on a barren island, and put a sword in his open-stretched mouth; but for this the god Tyr had to sacrifice his right hand. They cast the Midgard-serpent into the deep sea, where he encircles the whole earth and bites his own tail. Thor was at one time out fishing with the giant Hymer. He caught the Midgard-serpent on his hook, and would have slain him with his hammer Mjolner had it not been for the giant Hymer, who got frightened and cut the fishing-line just at the moment when Thor had his hammer raised to strike. The third child of Loke, Hel, goddess of death, was thrown into Nifheim, and Odin commanded that all who died of sickness or old age should go to her, while warriors slain in battle were borne on Valkyrian arms to Valhal. Her dwelling is called Helheim, and is large and terrible. Her realm in the lower world is divided into nine abodes, one below the other, and it is in the lowest of these that her palace is, called Anguish, her table Famine, her waiters Slowness and Delay, the threshold Precipice, and the bed Care. The English word hell is of course intimately connected with her name.
Loke caused the greatest sorrow to gods and men when by his cunning he brought about the death of the good Balder. Balder was the favourite of all nature, of the gods and of men. He was the son of Odin and Frigg, and the Edda says that he is the best god and that all mankind are loud in his praises. So fair and dazzling is he in form and feature that rays of light seem to issue from him, and we may form some idea of the beauty of his hair when we know that the whitest of all flowers is called Balder's brow. Balder is the mildest, the wisest, and the most eloquent of the gods; yet such is his nature that the judgment he has pronounced can never be altered. He dwells in the heavenly mansion called Breidablik ('broad-shining splendour'), into which nothing unclean can enter. Balder was tormented by terrible dreams indicating that his life was in danger. He told his dreams to his fellow-gods, who resolved to conjure all things animate and inanimate not to harm him, and accordingly Odin's wife Frigg took an oath from all things that they would do Balder no harm. But still Odin felt anxious, and having saddled his eight-footed horse Sleipner, he rode down to Nifheim, where he waked the vala or seeress, and compelled her to give him information about the fate of Balder. When it had been made known that all things had taken a solemn oath not to hurt Balder it became a favourite pastime of the gods at their meetings to put him up as a mark and shoot at him. But it sorely vexed Loke to see that Balder was not hurt. So he took on the guise of an old woman, went to Frigg, and asked her if all things had promised to spare Balder. From Frigg he learned that on account of its insignificance she had neglected to exact an oath from the mistletoe. So he straightway went and pulled this up, repaired to the place where the gods were assembled, and induced the blind god Hoder to throw the mistletoe at his brother, and do him honour as did the other gods. Loke himself guided Hoder's hand. The twig did not miss its shining mark, and Balder fell dead. The gods were struck speechless with terror. When they had had time to recover their senses Frigg sent Hermod to the goddess Hel to ask her to permit Balder to return to Asgard. Hel said she would release Balder if it was true that he was so universally beloved, and this she would test by observing if all things would weep for him. Messengers were despatched throughout all the world to beseech all things to weep Balder out from Hel's domain. And all things did so with alacrity, men, animals, the earth, stones, trees, and metals, just as we see things weep when they come from the frost into the warm air (a beautiful evidence that Balder is the sun or summer). The messengers were returning confident that their mission had been successful; but on their way home they found a hag crouching on the ground. She called herself Thokk, but she was none other than Loke in disguise. Thokk said she could not weep other than dry tears; and so Hel kept her prey. Now as Loke is physical heat and fire, Thokk's dry tears are the sparks that fly from the burning wood. Soon afterwards Loke was captured and bound with strong cords to the points of rocks in a cave. A serpent was suspended over him in such a manner that the venom fell into Loke's face drop by drop. But Sigyn, Loke's wife, took pity on him. She stands by him, and receives the drops as they fall in a cup, which she empties as often as it is filled. But while she is emptying it venom falls upon Loke's face, which makes him shrick with horror and twist his body about so violently that the whole earth shakes, and thus earthquakes are produced.
But when Balder, the bright and good god, had passed from the happy family circle of the gods to the cold and gloomy abodes of Hel the awful day of doom was impending. It was a fatal thing for the gods and for the world that they united themselves with the giant race. The gods should not have admitted Loke into Asgard. Balder's death was the result, and this hastened the day when the whole world shall be destroyed, when gods and men and giants shall perish in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods. Increasing corruption and strife in the world are the signs that this great and awful event is impending. Continuous winters rage without any intervening summer now that Balder has been slain; the air is filled with violent storms, snow, and darkness, and these are the signs that Ragnarok is at hand. The sun and moon are swallowed by giants who pursue them in the guise of wolves, and the heavens are stained with blood. The bright stars vanish, the earth trembles in the throes of the earthquake, and the mountains topple down with a tremendous crash. Then all chains and fetters are severed, and the terrible Fenriswolf gets loose. The Midgard-serpent writhes in his giant rage, and seeks land upon the tumultuous waves. The ship Naglfar, which has been built of the nail-parings of dead men, floats upon the waters, carrying the army of frost-giants and mountain-giants over the sea, and having the mighty giant Hrym as its helmsman. Loke too is now freed from his dark cave and strong chains, and comes to the scene as the leader of the hosts of Hel. The Fenriswolf advances and opens his enormous mouth. His lower jaw rests on the earth, and the upper touches the sky. It is only from want of room that he does not open his mouth still wider. Fire flashes from his mouth and nostrils. The Midgard-serpent, placing himself by the side of the Fenriswolf, vomits forth floods of venom that fill the air and waters. In the midst of this confusion, crashing, and devastation the heavens are rent in twain and the sons of Muspel come riding down the opening in brilliant battle-array. And now Surt, the same being that sent the heated blasts from Muspelheim into Ginnungagap in the pre-chaotic world, and by whose might the drops of venom sent by Nidhug in Niflheim quickened into the giant Ymer, he who is from everlasting to everlasting, appears on the scene wrapped in flames of fire. His flaming sword outshines the sun. All the hosts here described come riding over the Bifrost bridge, that is the rainbow, which breaks beneath so great a weight. All this vast and glittering array direct their course to the great battlefield called Vigrid, and thus the evil forces on their part are ready for the final struggle.
Meanwhile Heimdall, on the part of the gods, blows his Gjallarhorn to arouse the gods, who assemble without delay. In his embarrassment Odin now for the third time in his life goes to the giants for advice. He rides to Mimer, where in his youth he had pawned his eye for knowledge, to consult him as to how he and his warriors are to enter into action. The answer is not recorded, but in the meanwhile the ash Ygdrasil begins to quake and quiver, nor is there anything in heaven or on earth that does not fear and tremble in that awful hour. The gods and all the einherjes (i.e. those fallen in battle and brought to Valhal) don their armour, arm themselves and speedily sally forth to the field of battle, led by Odin, who is easily recognised by his golden helmet, resplendent cuirass, and his flashing spear Gungner. Odin places himself against the Fenriswolf as the foe most worthy of his steel. Thor stands by Odin's side, but can give him no assistance, as he must himself contend with the Midgard-serpent. Frey encounters the mighty Surt himself; but, though terrible blows are exchanged, Frey falls, and the Edda says he owes his defeat to the fact that he did not have that trusty sword which in his passion for a giantess he gave to his servant Skiner, when he sent him to ask for the hand of the charming giantess Gerd. In the last hour the dog Garm, which for ages had been chained in the Gnipa cave, also breaks loose. He is the most terrible monster of all, and he attacks the one-handed Tyr, who had sacrificed his right hand to get the Fenriswolf bound. Garm and Tyr kill each other. Thor gains great renown by dealing the deathblow to the Midgard-serpent with his mighty hammer Mjolner, but he retreats only nine paces before he too falls dead, suffocated by the flood of venom which the expiring serpent vomits forth upon him. The Fenriswolf with his enormous and wide-open mouth swallows Odin; but Vidar, Odin's son, immediately advances to avenge his father. He places his foot upon the wolf's lower jaw, the other he seizes with his hand, and thus tears and rends him till he dies. Vidar is able to do this, for he wears a shoe, for which materials have been gathered in all ages. It is made of scraps of leather cut off from the toes and heels in making patterns for shoes; hence, says the Edda, shoemakers should throw away such pieces if they desire to render assistance to the gods in the final conflict. Loke and Heimdall meet in a duel and become each other's slayers. The conflict is still raging with unabated fury, when the immortal god Surt flings fire and flame over the world. Smoke wreathes up around the ash Ygdrasil; the high flames play against the lurid heavens, and the earth consumed sinks down beneath the watery waste.
After Ragnarok comes a new world. The earth rises a second time from the sea, and is completely clothed in green. Sparkling cascades fall, over-arched by rainbows glistening in the sunbeams. The eagle soars on lofty pinion in pursuit of his prey. The gods risen from the dead assemble on the Ida plains and talk over the strange events of the past. The fields unsown yield bountiful harvest, all ills cease, and the gods live in peace. A new sun brighter and more resplendent than the former appears, and there is naught but beauty, plenty, and happiness.
The Scandinavian mythology has two heavens and two hells for humanity, a heaven and hell before Ragnarok, and a heaven and hell after Ragnarok. Before Ragnarok those fallen in battle or by the sword went to Valhal, to become einherjes, who took part with Odin in the first conflict on the plain of Vigrid. Those who died a straw-death (that is, from sickness or old age) went after death to the domain of Hel, and, though the Edda is silent on the subject, they probably fought on the side of Loke. But after Ragnarok there is a heaven called Gimle and a hell called Nastrand. Gimle is a hall more radiant than the sun; it is the uppermost realm, and in it the virtuous shall dwell for ever and enjoy delights without end. Nastrand is a place set apart for the wicked. The word means strand of corpses. It is situated far from the sun, in the lowest region of the universe. It is a large and terrible cave, the doors of which open to the north. This cave is built of serpents wattled together, and the fanged heads of all the serpents turn into the cave, filling it with streams of venom, in which perjurers, murderers, and adulterers have to wade. Bloody hearts hang outside of the hearts of the damned. Their faces are dyed in gore. Strong-envenomed serpent fangs fiercely pierce their hearts; and their hands are riveted together with red-hot stones. Their clothes wrapped in flames are not consumed, and remorseless ravens keep tearing their eyes from their heads. From this terrible cave the damned are, to increase their anguish, washed by the venomous floods into Hvergelmer, that fearful well in Nifheim, where their souls and bodies are subjected to even more terrible pains and woes; torn by countless clusters of serpents, and borne from agony to agony on the whizzing plumage of the primeval Nidhug, the dragon of the uttermost darkness. The Scandinavian mythology appears not to teach eternal punishment. There comes a mighty one to the great judgment, and makes Nidhug sink. In her last vision in Völuspa the vala points to a time when all that is evil shall be dissolved and washed away by the eternal streams of goodness. This is the last vision of the vala:
There comes the dark
Dragon flying,
The shining serpent
From the Nida-mountains
In the deep.
Over the plains he flies:
Dead bodies he drags
In his whizzing plumage.
Now must Nidhug sink.
Sophus Bugge has published an elaborate work, Studier over de nordiske gude, og heltesagns Oprindelse (German trans. by Professor Brenner, Munich, 1889), in which he attempts to trace the influence of Greek and Roman mythology and of Christianity on Scandinavian mythology. On the other hand, Viktor Rydberg, in his monumental work Teutonic Mythology (trans. into English by the present writer, London, 1889), has given an account of the mythology as it existed before it came in contact with and was modified by the Christian religion. The mythological materials in a more or less changed form have been largely augmented by Rydberg, particularly by his subjecting the mythic portions of the Historia Danica of Saxo Grammaticus to a most painstaking analysis. He has found the key to Saxo's method of turning myths and traditions into history, and by this discovery he has secured many new and important contributions to Scandinavian mythology. Rydberg shows that the Younger Edda is an unreliable record of the Odinic religion. He has also largely increased our stock of mythological materials by analysing, for the first time, the mythic fragments found in the old Norse literature outside of the Elder Edda.
See Finn Magnusen's Lexicon Poeticum, J. Grimm's Deutsche Mythologie (Eng. trans. by Stallybrass), Gudbrand Vigfusson's Corpus Poeticum Boreale, Laing's Heimskringla (new ed. by R. B. Anderson, 1889), N. M. Petersen's Nordisk Mythologie, P. A. Munch's Norröne gude, og Helte-Sagn, Karl Simrock's Deutsche Mythologie, Wilhelm Mannhardt's Germanische Mythen, the present writer's Norse Mythology (5th ed. 1891).