Northvegr
Search the Northvegr™ Site



Powered by   Google.com
 
Viktor Rydberg's Investigations into Germanic Mythology Volume II  : Part 2: Germanic Mythology
  Home | Site Index | Heithinn Idea Contest |
Grimm's TM - Chap. 31


Chapter 31


(Page 6)

Guro is apparently the same as gurri, ON. gîfr (giantess, p. 526); but gurri is also huldra (Faye 10), who is described as a beautiful woman with a hideous tail (ib. 25. 39). Huldra may be likened to our Holda all the more, because she takes unchristened infants with her. Guro, as a leader of the furious host, answers perfectly to the description given of all the others (65) (see Suppl.).

If we now review the entire range of German and Scandinavian stories about the Furious Host, the following facts come to the front. The myth exhibits gods and goddesses of the heathen time. Of gods: Wuotan, and perhaps Fro, if I may take 'Berhtolt' to mean him. We can see Wuotan still in his epithets of the cloaked, the bearded, which were afterwards misunderstood and converted into proper names. Saxo Gram. p. 37 says of Othin: 'albo clypeo tectus, album (s. l. pro 'altum') flectens equum.' Sleipnir was a light gray horse (Sn. 47), what was called apple-gray (pommelé, AS. æppelfealo). Then we see both the name and the meaning [m. or f.] fluctuate between frô Wôdan and frôwa Gôda. A goddess commanding the host, in lieu of the god, is Holda, his wife in fact. I am more and more firmly convinced, that 'Holda' can be nothing but an epithet of the mild 'gracious' Fricka; conf. Sommer's Thür. sag. 165-6. And Berhta, the shining, is identical with her too; or, if the name applies more to Frouwa, she is still next-door to her, as the Norse Freyja was to Frigg. It is worth noting, that her Norweg. legend also names a 'Huldra,' not Frigg nor Freyja. The dogs that surround the god's airy chariot may have been Wuotan's wolves setting up their howl. A Scand. story not well authenticated (66) makes Oðinn be wounded by a boar, like Hakelbernd, and this wounding seems altogether legendary (p. 921-2); when the boar sucked the blood out of the sleeping god, some drops fell on the earth, which turned into flowers the following spring.

These divinities present themselves in a twofold aspect. Either as visible to human eyes, visiting the land at some holy tide, bringing welfare and blessing, accepting gifts and offerings of the people that stream to meet them. Or floating unseen through the air, perceptible in cloudy shapes, in the roar and howl of the winds (p. 632), carrying on war, hunting or the game of ninepins, the chief employments of ancient heroes: an array which, less tied down to a definite time, explains more the natural phenomenon (conf. Haupt's Zeitschr. 6, 1291. 131). I suppose the two exhibitions to be equally old, and in the myth of the wild host they constantly play into one another. The fancies about the Milky Way have shewn us how ways and waggons of the gods run in the sky as well as on the earth.

With the coming of Christianity the fable could not but undergo a change. For the solemn march of gods, there now appeared a pack of horrid spectres, dashed with dark and devilish ingredients. Very likely the heathen themselves had believed that spirits of departed heroes took part in the divine procession; the christians put into the host the unchristened dead, the drunkard, the suicide (conf. p. 822), who come before us in frightful forms of mutilation. The 'holde' goddess turns into an 'unholde,' still beautiful in front, but with a tail behind. (67) So much of her ancient charms as could not be stript off was held to be seductive and sinful: and thus was forged the legend of the Venus-mount. Their ancient offerings too the people did not altogether drop, but limited them to the sheaf of oats for the celestial steed, as even Death (another hunter, p. 845-6) has his bushel of oats found him (p. 844).

When born again as heroes, the gods retained their genuine old character undimmed. Thus we see Dietrich, Ekhart, Arthur, Charles, Waldemar, Palnatoke, nay, king Christian, significantly incorporated in the roving company, without the slightest detriment to their dignity or repute among the people. At the same time its due weight must be allowed to another view, which degrades the gods into devils, the goddesses into hags and witches: here the devil might easily spring out of the giant of old.

The last lodgment found by the fable is when it settles on individual hunters and lovers of hunting of modern times, such as Hackelberg, the heath-rider Bären, squire Marten, Mansberg the baron, &c. These look almost like historic personages, but narrowly examined they will in every case melt into mythic ones. The people's conscientious care to point out Hakelnbernd's tomb seems to indicate a heathen worship, to which even monuments of stone were consecrated.

The similar course taken by the history of the myth in Scandinavia and in Germany is a fresh guarantee that the same heathen faith prevailed there and here. Saxony, Westphalia, Mecklenburg, Hesse have still several features in common with the North; South Germany has retained fewer. So there come out points of agreement with Celtic legend; none with Slavic, that I can discover, unless the nocturnal rides of Svantovit (p. 662) are to be taken into account.

I have yet to mention an agreement with Greek fable, which seems to prove the high antiquity of that notion of a giant and hunter. To the Greeks, Orion was a gigantic (pelwrioj) huntsman, who in the underworld continues to chase the quarry on the Asphodel-mead (Od. 11, 572), and forms a brilliant constellation. Homer speaks of Orion's hound (Il. 22, 29) seen in the sky below him; in flight before him are the Pleiads (a bevy of wild doves, Od. 12, 62), and the Great Bear herself appears to watch him (dokeuei, Od. 5, 274). (68) Did our ancestors connect the same group of stars with their myth of the wild hunt? I have left it doubtful on p. 727. We might, for one thing, see such a connexion in Orion's AS. name of boar-throng (eoforþryng); and secondly add, that the three stars of his belt are called the distaff of Fricka, who as 'Holda' heads the furious host, and looks after her spinsters just at the time of his appearing at Christmas. Can it be, that when the constellation takes name from Fricka, her spindle is made prominent; and when Wuotan or a giant-hero lends his name, the herd of hunted boars is emphasized? The Greek fable unfolds itself yet more fully. Orion is struck blind, and is led to new light by Kedalion, a marvellous child who sits on his shoulders. Might not we match this blind giant with our headless wild hunter? (69) A feature that strikes me still more forcibly is, that Artemis (Diana) causes a scorpion to come up out of the ground, who stings Orion in the ankle, so that he dies: (70) when the sign Scorpio rises in the sky, Orion sinks. This is like Hackelberend's foot being pierced by the wild boar's tusk, and causing his death (pp. 921. 947). Orion's [cosmic] rising is at the summer, his setting at the winter solstice: he blazes through the winter nights, just when the furious host is afoot. Stormy winds attend him (nimbosus Orion, Aen. 1, 535); the gift is given him of walking on the sea (Apollod. i. 4, 3), as the steeds in the aaskereia skim over the wave. Orion's relation to Artemis is not like that of Wuotan to Holda, for these two are never seen together in the host; but Holda by herself bears a strong resemblance to Artemis or Diana (p. 267. 270), still more to the nightly huntress Hecate, at whose approach dogs whimper (as with frau Gaude), who, like Hel, is scented by the dogs (p. 667), (71) and for whom a paltry pittance was placed (as for Berhta and the wild woman, p. 432) at the trivium (OHG. driwikki), (72) conf. Theocr. 2, 15 and Virg. Aen. 4, 609: 'nocturnis Hecate triviis ululata per urbes.' Lucian's Filoyeudhj cap. 22. 24 tells us how such a Ekath appeared in the wood to Eucrates, and the yelping dogs are there too (see Suppl.).

Tacitus Germ. 43 thus describes the Harii, a people of N.E. Germany: 'truces insitae feritati arte ac tempore lenocinantur; nigra scuta, tincta corpora, atras ad proelia noctes legunt, ipsaque formidine atque umbra feralis exercitus terrorem inferunt, nullo hostium sustinente novum ac velut infernum aspectum' (see Suppl). Is this about 'host of the dead' and 'hellish array' Roman rhetoric, or was it contained in descriptions of this people given by Germans themselves? An airy host (p. 940) is also spoken of by Pliny 2, 57: 'armorum crepitus et tubae sonitus auditos e coelo Cimbricis bellis accepimus, crebroque et prius et postea; tertio vero consulatu Marii ab Amerinis et Tudertibus spectata arma coelestia ab ortu occasuque inter se concurrentia, pulsis quae ab occasu erant.'




ENDNOTES:


65. Can the 'Gurre wood' in the Waldemar legend have arisen, like 'Hakel wood,' out of the personal name? Conf. Halja and hell. In Schmidt's Fastelabendsamml. p. 76 we find the combination 'der Woor, die Goor, der wilde jäger.' Back

66. Wassenberg p. 72. Creuzer's Symb. 2, 98. I fear Rudbeck had the boldness to adapt the legend of Adonis (p. 949n.) to Oden. Back

67. Conf. 'frau Welt,' dame World, in Conrad's poem p. 196 seq. Back

68. O. Müller on Orion (Rhein. mus. f. philol. 2, 12). Back

69. A malefactor, whose crime is not divulged before his death, is doomed to wander with his head under his arm (Superst. I. 605). Can the being struck (or growing) blind be meant to express ghostly wandering? Back

70. Aratus Phaenom. 637. Ov. Fast. 5, 541. Lucan Phars. 9, 832. Adonis got his death-wound from the boar. Nestor (Jos. Müller 101) tells us, it was prophesied to Oleg that he would die of his horse; he still had it fed, but would not see it again. Five years after, he inquired about it, and was told it was dead. Then he laughed at soothsayers, and went into the stable, where the horse's skeleton lay, but when he trod on the skull, a snake darted out of it and stung him in the foot, whereof he sickened and died (see Suppl.). Back

71. Apparently a slip; for that was Athena.---Trans. Back

72. Cross-roads, the parting of ways, are a trouble to frau Gaude. Festus sub v. 'pilae, effigies' says these were hung up at such places for the Lares. [Back]



<< Previous Page       Next Page >>






© 2004-2007 Northvegr.
Most of the material on this site is in the public domain. However, many people have worked very hard to bring these texts to you so if you do use the work, we would appreciate it if you could give credit to both the Northvegr site and to the individuals who worked to bring you these texts. A small number of texts are copyrighted and cannot be used without the author's permission. Any text that is copyrighted will have a clear notation of such on the main index page for that text. Inquiries can be sent to info@northvegr.org. Northvegr™ and the Northvegr symbol are trademarks and service marks of the Northvegr Foundation.

> Northvegr™ Foundation
>> About Northvegr Foundation
>> What's New
>> Contact Info
>> Link to Us
>> E-mail Updates
>> Links
>> Mailing Lists
>> Statement of Purpose
>> Socio-Political Stance
>> Donate

> The Vík - Online Store
>> More Norse Merchandise

> Advertise With Us

> Heithni
>> Books & Articles
>> Trúlög
>> Sögumál
>> Heithinn Date Calculator
>> Recommended Reading
>> The 30 Northern Virtues

> Recommended Heithinn Faith Organizations
>> Alfaleith.org

> NESP
>> Transcribe Texts
>> Translate Texts
>> HTML Coding
>> PDF Construction

> N. European Studies
>> Texts
>> Texts in PDF Format
>> NESP Reviews
>> Germanic Sources
>> Roman Scandinavia
>> Maps

> Language Resources
>> Zoëga Old Icelandic Dict.
>> Cleasby-Vigfusson Dictionary
>> Sweet's Old Icelandic Primer
>> Old Icelandic Grammar
>> Holy Language Lexicon
>> Old English Lexicon
>> Gothic Grammar Project
>> Old English Project
>> Language Resources

> Northern Family
>> Northern Fairy Tales
>> Norse-ery Rhymes
>> Children's Books/Links
>> Tafl
>> Northern Recipes
>> Kubb

> Other Sections
>> The Holy Fylfot
>> Tradition Roots



Search Now:

Host Your Domain on Dreamhost!

Please Visit Our Sponsors




Web site design and coding by Golden Boar Creations