ODIN. 55 



arid there welcome his friends. Now the Swedes thought he 

 had gone to the old Asgard, and would live there for ever. 

 Then there again arose worship of Odin, and vows were made 

 to him. The Swedes often thought he appeared to them in 

 dreams on the eve of great battles ; to some he gave victory, 

 others he invited home ; either of these alternatives was con- 

 sidered good. After death he was burnt with great splendour. 1 

 It was their belief that the higher the smoke rose in the air 

 the more glorious would the burnt man be in heaven, 2 and 

 the more property that was burnt with him the wealthier 

 would he be " (Ynglinga Saga, c. 10). 



Whether a hero and leader of the name of Odin ever lived 

 or not we cannot tell, but that we know from the records the 

 people believed that he and the Asar had existed, and the 

 creed they had established was their religion ; and this belief 

 lasted with many to the end of the pagan era, which did not 

 entirely disappear till the twelfth century. Odin and some of 

 the Asar were deified and worshipped in all the countries of 

 the North, and with the lapse of time their fame increased. 



" Odin was a mighty warrior and travelled far and wide, and 

 became owner of many realms (countries). He was so success- 

 ful that in every battle he gained the victory, and at last his 

 men believed that in every battle victory was in his power. 

 It was his custom, when he sent his men into fight or on other 

 errands, first to lay his hands 011 their heads and give them 

 bjanak ; 3 they believed that luck would then be with them. 

 Also it happened that whenever his men were in need on laud 

 or at sea they called on his name, and always felt relieved 

 by it ; for every kind of help they looked to him. He often 

 went so far away that he was on a journey many seasons" 

 (Ynglinga, c. 2). 



" It is said with truth that when Asa-Odin, and with him 

 the Diar, 4 carne into the northern lands, they began and taught 

 those idrottir 5 which men afterwards long practised. Odin 

 was the foremost of them all, and from him they learned the 

 idrottir, for he first knew them all, and more than any other. 

 He was highly honoured on account of the following things. 

 He looked so fair and noble when he sat with his friends that 



1 People were buried with their wealth. 



- The one who owned the burning ill 

 the text. Heaven means space, not a 

 blessed abode. 



3 This word is not found elsewhere in 



Scandinavian literature. 



* See priest. 



5 Idr6ttir, a name for all kinds of 

 athletic' and intellectual games. 



