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SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY. 



326 





who whisper in his ear all the tidings they have collected. His wife is 

 Frigga, who foresees all things, but never foretells them. 2, Thor, the 

 mightiest and strongest of gods or men ; possessing a hammer, Miolnir, 

 of enormous power, which returns of itself to him after having been 

 Bang at any one ; a belt by which his strength is doubled when it is 

 worn ; and gauntlets without which he cannot grasp the handle of his 

 hammer. He was the son of Odin by Fiorgyn (the earth), who also 

 figures as a male, the father of Frigga, the wife of Odin. Thor is the 

 protector of the earth, whose cultivation he has established, whose 

 fruitfulness and kindliness in favour of its inhabitants he unweariedly 

 fosters and furthers, and is therefore in continual conflict with the 

 wild elements. His wife is Sif, from whom by a trick Loki stole her 

 hair, and was forced by Thor to supply its place with hair of gold. 3, 

 Baldur, the second son of Odin by Frigga, the handsomest and best of 

 the Asar, the wisest, mildest, and most eloquent. His wife was 

 \anna He was early threatened with death, to guard against which 

 every created thing was required to swear to do him no harm ; but, 

 instigated by Ix>ki, his blind half-brother, Hodur (unreasoning strength), 

 slew him by throwing at him a branch of mistletoe, which had been 

 overlooked in the swearing. His fate occasioned the visit of Odin to 

 Hela, which his besn paraphrased by Gray. 4, Niord governs the 

 winds, stills the sea. and checks the fire. But he is not of the race of 

 the Asar. Born and bred in Vanaheim. a district of the giants, he was 



as a hostage to the Asar on a peace being concluded with the 

 Vanen, who received from the Asar as a hostage on their part, Hodur, 

 one of the joint creators of mankind. His wife was Skadi, daughter 

 of the giant Thiassi. They had two children ; a son named Freyr, and 

 a daughter named Freyja, both beauteous and powerful. 5. Freyr 

 governs the rain and sunshine, gives abundant harvests, promotes 

 peace, and dispenses riches to men. He fell in love with Gerda, the 

 daughter of Gymir, one of the giant* in Jotunheim, and obtained her 

 tor his wife through the intervention of Skirnir, and this forms the 

 subject of one of the poems of the elder Hdda. Skirnirsfdr or Skiniir's 

 Journey. His sister is equally benevolent, she assists all who desire 

 her assistance, i especially favourable to lovers, and claims the half of 

 all who fall in battle (the other half belonging to Odin), whom she 

 entertains in Setwrumnir, her mansion in Asgard. fi, Tyr, whose 

 descent is uncertain, is bold and courageous, promotes strife, and gives 

 victory in war. He has but one hand, as the other was bitten off by 

 Fenrir, the wolf, who demanded of the Asar the pledge of one of their 

 hands in his mouth before he consented to be bound in order to try 

 his strength. None of the Asar dared this but Tyr. The wolf 

 remains bound until the day of the destruction of the world. 7, 

 Bragi, celebrated for wisdom, eloquence, and his skill in poetry : be was 

 the skald of the gods. His wife was Iduna, who had charge of the 

 golden apples, by eating of which the gods renewed their youth. 

 Loki by a trick delivered her and her apples to one of the giants ; the 

 gods became wrinkled and gray ; and then Loki by another trick brought 

 her and her treasure back to the Asar. 8, Heimdall is one of the Asar, 

 the son of nine virgin sisters, but beyond the epithet vxitte Aa 

 ( white Aes, singular of Asar) his descent must be admitted as obscure. 

 He was a powerful god, and much honoured. He is the warder of the 

 bridge Hifront (the rainbow), requires less sleep than a bird, sees by 

 night as well as by day, can even hear the grass grow on the earth, 

 and the wool on the sheep's back. His horn when sounded is heard all 

 over the world, and his sword fights of its own accord. 9, Vidar is 

 one of the sons of Odin, and surnamed The Silent. He is next to 

 Thor in strength, and on the day of combat against the giants is to kill 

 the wolf Kenrir, by driving his sword down his open jaws. 10, Vali, 

 another son of Odin's by Rinda, who undertook to revenge the death 

 of Baldur, and assisted in binding Loki. 11, Ullur is the son of Sif, 

 step-son of Thur, skilful with the bow, swift on snow shoes, handsome 

 and brave. 12, Forneti, the son of Baldur and Nanna, celebrated for 

 his correct judgments, from which all disputants depart satisfied. 

 < )ther lists somewhat vary from this. Hodur, the blind and strong, 

 has been mentioned, but seems not to be included among the twelve. 

 The prose Kdda says, " the gods might well wish they had never to 

 name him. for too long will his deed remain in their memory." 



Besides the Awr, there are some other important deities. One of the 



'. Loki, one of the sons of the giant Farbauti and Nal, or 

 Lanfey, his wife; the others being Byleist and Helblindi. Loki is 

 handsome in person, but capricious, cunning, and perfidious. He was 

 at times the friend, and commonly the associate, of the Asar, but the 

 continual contriver of mischief against them. He had a wife called 

 Siguna, and a son by her named Nari, who was devoured by his 

 brother, the wolf. But his most celebrated progeny *was by the 

 giantess Angurbodi, by whom he had the wolf Fenrir, who used to 

 follow the sun. endeavouring to swallow it, whose binding lias been 

 already mentioned, and who will at length break loose, and assist in 

 the destruction of the world; the serpent JBnnungand, who was 

 thrown by the gods into the deep ocean that surrounds Midgard, 

 which he encircled, holding his tail in his mouth ; and Hela, who wag 

 cast into Niflheim, and has power over nine regions, into which she 



utes all who die through old age or sickness. The dominion 

 of lid* is not a place of punishment, but only the abode of those not 

 deemed worthy of dwelling in Valhalla. Loki himself is at length 

 bound on sharp-pointed rocks, with a serpent suspended over him ; 

 whose venom should fall on his face, but his wife Siguna catches the 



drops in a cup till it is full; she then has to empty it; and while 

 this is being done, the drops which fall on his face cause such 

 extreme pains, that he writhes and causes earthquakes. He is thus to 

 lie till the end of the world. Oegir, also called Gymir, is one of the 

 giants, and has dominion over the sea. It will be seen that Odin's two 

 brothers, Veli and Ve, have disappeared. At the end of heaven sits 

 Hrassehwelger (corpse-devourer), one of the giants, in the shape of an 

 eagle, and from the flapping of his wings proceeds the wind, according 

 to the force of their motion. Surtur, another god or giant, who 

 remains in Muspelheim, is only to appear at the day of destruction. 

 All the monsters are loosed, whom he will lead to the conflict with the 

 Asar, some are killed, but they remain conquerors. After this final com- 

 bat, Surtur spreads flames over the earth, and all will be consumed. But 

 Nastrond is formed, a place of punishment vast and awful, constructed 

 of serpents, whose venom collects in floods, through which wade 

 murderers, perjurers, and adulterers ; but in the plain of Ida, where 

 Asgard formerly stood, another earth will arise from the sea, and says 

 the Voluspd 



" I see a hall, Brighter than the sun, 

 With gold covered, On Gimli's height ; 

 There will the worthy Princes dwell, 

 And without end, Enjoy their honour ;" 



where Surtur's fire can no longer harm them. 



The prose Edda adds, that a man and woman survive, hid in a 

 forest, and fed with dew, who are to replenish the world ; and the sun 

 is to bring forth a daughter (the sun is feminine in the northern 

 dialects) more lovely than herself. This seems to be an addition. This 

 Edda, compiled by Christians, has much more of the Christian element 

 than the elder, and is therefore less to be depended on as a faithful 

 transcript of the ancient mythology. 



Of the goddesses, besides those mentioned, the most prominent after 

 Frigga, were Saga (history), a favourite of Odin's ; Eir, skilful in the 

 healing art ; Gefion, who is a virgin, and to whom belong all who die 

 unmarried ; Fulla, also a maiden, the attendant and confidant of 

 Frigga; Freyja (already mentioned) was married to Odhur, who left 

 her, and Freyja wept tears of goM. She bears several other names, 

 which she assumed while seeking her husband, and was the possessor of 

 a famous necklace called Brisinga ; Siiifna, who turns the hearts of men 

 and women to thoughts of love ; Lofn and Vora are also deities favourable 

 to lovers ; Syn, is door-keeper of the hall of the gods, shutting it against 

 all who have not the right of entering, and likewise presides at trials 

 in which anything is denied on oath ; Snotra, the wise and courteous ; 

 Gn is the messenger of Frigga, riding a horse on which she glides 

 through the air; Sol, so named by her father on account of her 

 beauty, while her brother he named Mani (moon). This pride offended 

 the gods, who made the sister the driver of the horses of the sun, and 

 the brother those of the moon. There are other goddesses, such as the 

 Valkyrien, who serve the mead in Valhalla, and are sent by Odin to 

 every battle-field to select the slain and to give victory ; the Nornen 

 also assist in this latter office. Also, Jord (the earth), T hor's mother, 

 and Kinda, the mother of Vali, are reckoned among the goddesses. 



In Asgard are the twelve heavenly palaces or abodes, of such extra- 

 ordinary splendour, that the light of the sun or moon was not needed. 

 Asgard is protected by an abyss crossed by a heavenly bridge, strong 

 enough to bear the gods, but which will break under the weight of the 

 giants. This is called Bifrdst, and is the rainbow, formed of water, 

 air, and fire, as shown by its colours. The water and air would have 

 been sufficiently strong for the Asar, but the fire was added to guard 

 against the giants. On the boundary between Asgard and Midgard 

 stands Thrudheim, the dwelling of Thor, which forms a thirteenth. 

 The twelve are : 1. Ydali, the valley of moisture, in which Uller, the 

 son of Sif, and the step-son of Thor, dwells. 2. Alfheim, or Ellinland, 

 inhabited by Freyr, the son of Niord, and, according to the prose Edda, 

 by the elves of light (by which is thought to be represented the ger- 

 minating powers of the sun's rays), who are to exist till the overthrow 

 of the universe, and then to betake themselves to the higher heaven. 

 3. Valaskialf, Vali's watchtower, in which dwells Vali, the son of Odin 

 and Kinda. Here was also built Odin's chief seat, Hlithskialf, from the 

 elevated throne of which, he and his wife Frigga could overlook 

 the whole world. 4. Sockvabeck (the stream of descent or depth), 

 rushing with cold water, whence Odin and Siiga (history) drink every 

 day from golden vessels, and intoxicated with the precious drink, 

 rejoice in the love that may be derived from the water-oracle. 6. 

 Gladsheim (realm of joy), where is Idavblle (the field of business), 

 because here are forged the arms with which the heroes disport. 

 This is the gathering-place of the Asar; here are held the feasts 

 and the combats of the souls of departed heroes who reside in 

 Valhalla ; they wander arm in arm with the virgin Valkyrien, whose 

 love and unfading charms are the rewards of those who have received 

 their kiss in battle, the sign of an invitation to the feast of the 

 gods. In Idavolle both Valhalla and Vingolf are situated. The last 

 is the residence of the Einheriar (or heroes), whose help is needed by 

 the gods in their final contest against the inhabitants of Muspelheim, 

 on the destruction of the world. Vingolf is a palace of gold reaching 

 to the clouds. Before the gates of Valhalla lies the forest of Glasir, 

 in which the trees bear leaves of red gold. But Vingolf is the 

 sanctuary of the goddesses, where the half of the slain whom Freyja 



