NORTHERN MYTHOLOGY. o7 
' The gods despairing that they would ever find a chain strong enough tu 
fetter Fenris, sent a messenger to the mountain spirits (Svartalfir) in Svartal- 
fahewm, who made for them the chain called Glezpnir (the Devouring). I: 
was fashioned of six things; viz. the noise made by the footfall of a cat. 
the beards of women, the roots of mountains, the breath of fish, the sinews 
of bears, and the spittle of birds; when finished, it was as smooth anc 
soft as a silken string. But when the gods asked the wolf to suffer himsel: 
to be bound with this apparently slight ribbon, he suspected their design, 
fearing that it was made by enchantment; he therefore only consented to 
be bound with it upon condition that one of the gods put his hand in hig 
mouth as a pledge that the band was to be removed again. Tyr alone had 
courage enough to do this. But when the wolf found that he could not 
break his fetters, and that the gods would not release him, he bit off the 
hand of Tyr, who has ever since remained one-handed. 
Braga, another son of Odin ( pl. 12, fig. 2), is represented as a man ad- 
vanced in years, and playing on a harp; he was the god of elocution, oratory, 
poetry, and song, and was distinguished above all the other gods for his 
wisdom and penetration. His tongue was covered with runes of enchant- 
ment, symbolizing that his song records great deeds. He is, therefore, in 
modern literature, often regarded as the god of history. } 
The warden of Asgard, who lived in the celestial citadel at one end of the 
bridge Biférst, which he guards against the giants, was Leemdall, or Heim- 
dallur (fig. 5); heis represented mounted upon his steed Gulitoppur (Golden- 
mane), blowing his trumpet Giallarhorn (the far-sounding), the sound of 
which can be heard throughout the universe, and which he only blows to 
eall the gods and heroes-to the rescue when danger threatens. He also 
was a son of Odin; but. the gifts bestowed upon him by his nine mothers 
were the coolness of the ocean, the strength of the earth, and a blood of 
reconciliation. He was particularly and in an extraordinary manner 
qualified for his post; “for he sleeps,’ says the Edda, “less than a bird, 
can see a hundred leagues by night or day, and so acute is his sense of 
hearing, that he hears the grass grow in the earth and the wool on the 
sheep’s back, and a wound from his sword is always fatal.” His nine 
mothers were the nine hours of night, begetting the dawn, and he was 
himself the symbol of the brightness of early morning, which favors virtue 
‘and oppeses vice. 
»Hermode, also the protector of travellers. On pl.18, jig. 7, we see him dressed 
in-a cuirass, and with a helmet upon his head, both presents from Odin. 
-He acted also as master of ceremonies with his brother Braga, whose duty 
“it was to welcome the newly slain heroes on their entrance into Valhalla. 
Besides those already mentioned, there are two other gods that belong to 
the same class, who have the collective name Asér ; Vidar, the god of silence, 
and Vail, the god of spring, concord, and reconciliation. 
The goddesses of this race were Prigga, Idunna, Gefion, Fylia, and Sif. 
Frigga was the wife of Odin, and granted growth and fruitfulness to all 
living things. She presided in all the assemblies of the goddesses, which 
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