Northvegr - The Religion of the Northmen

Find out more about Nordic Magic Healing: Healing galdr, healing runes by Yves Kodratoff and how to get your copy.

Home | Site Index | Heithinn Idea Contest |

The Religion of the Northmen

CHAPTER II

THE EDDAS AND SAGAS OF ICELAND

Page 1

        The Icelandic poems which Brynjúlf Sveinsson found in 1643, and gave the name of "Edda," were collected and written down in the latter part of the twelfth century by Sæmund, a learned Icelander. They had existed before in the mouths of the people, and had thus been handed down from generation to generation, perhaps for centuries. They are evidently the product of various ages in a remote antiquity, but nearer than this we can decide nothing in regard to their origin. These poems differ much, not only in age and value, but also in their contents. In the latter respect they may be classed under two heads: the Mythological and the Epic, although few of them are either purely epic or mythological. The Ethical poems, only, may be separated from the mythological, and taken as a distinct class. The poems of the mythological part are naturally the most important for us. They are either general or special in their subject matter, that is, some embrace a comprehensive view of the whole field of Northern Mythology, while others are limited to a single group of legends, or to a single divinity. To the former belong especially the Cosmogonic and Theogonic lays, as in these the mythic Universe of the Old-Scandinavians is presented in its unity and completeness. Of these there are three, as follows:
        1. Völuspá---The Vala's Prophecy---may be regarded, both from its manner and matter, as one of the oldest poetic monuments of the North. In extreme simplicity, deep significance, and mythic universality, it is comparable to Hesiod's Theogony, hence it has long held, very justly, the first place among the Eddaic lays. The Seeress, who is introduced speaking, unveils the whole history of the mythic Universe. Beginning with primeval time, she goes through every period of its development down to the The Twilight of the Gods and Baldur's second birth.
        The poem is in many places somewhat obscure, the changes abrupt, in accordance with the communication of the Vala, and there are also traces of later Christian interpolations.
        2. Grímnismál---Grímnir's Speech or Song---begins with a preface (formáli) in prose, in which it is related that Odin, under the name of Grímnir, visited his foster-son Geirröð, and the latter, deceived by a false representation of Friga, takes him for a sorcerer, makes him sit between two fires and pine there without nourishment for eight days, until Agnar, the King's son, reaches him a drinking horn. Hereupon Grímnir sings the song which bears his name. Lamenting his confinement and blessing Agnar, he goes on to picture in antitheses the twelve abodes of the Gods and the splendors of Valhalla, which he describes at length, then speaks of the mythic World-Tree Yggdrasill, and adds many other cosmological explanations.
        3. Vafþrúðnismál---Vafthrúdnir's Song, relates the contest between Odin and the Jötun Vafthrúdnir. Many cosmological questions are here propounded. Odin asks concerning the Creation of the Earth, the Origin of the Sun and Moon, Day and Night, Summer and Winter, &c., also the Jötuns, the Vanir, and the things beyond the Twilight of the Gods. (1)
        The language, the narration, the train of thought, are extremely simple. The Jötun loses in the contest, as a matter of course.
        In their clothing the two latter belong to the cycle of Odinic Myths, although they are strictly cosmogonical in their subjects. It is thus with many of the poems, that they are in some respects quite independent, yet are in some manner connected with others in groups.
        The poems relating to Baldur's death are of a general character, for as Baldur is himself "the Band in the Wreath of Valhalla," the central life of all Ásgard, so do the lays in which his death is foretold or lamented, have a direct reference to the Fall of the Gods and of the mythic Universe. In them the background is always the Twilight of the Gods; they might therefore be called anti-cosmogonical. They are likewise three in number, viz:
        4. Hrafna-galldr Óðins---the Raven-Cry of Odin, which is wild and obscure, the most unitelligible of the Eddaic poems. Only this much is clear, that in it is portrayed the unrest and anxiety of the Æsir at the approaching death of Baldur. Tortured by forebodings of evil they vainly seek counsel and aid of all Nature and in all Worlds.
        5. Vegtams-kviða---the Wanderer's Lay, is directly connected with the foregoing, but it is as simple as that is confused and intricate. The Wanderer is Odin. In order to arrive at certainty concerning the portentous future of the Gods, he descends to Niflheim, goes into the abodes of Hel, and calls up from the grave a long-departed Vala, in order to learn from her the fate of Baldur. She listens to him indignantly, answers his questions unwillingly, but at last discovers the King of the Gods, and in anger drives him away.
        6. Loka-senna, or Loka-glepsa---Loki's Quarrel, or Loki's Teeth-gnashing, with a prose introduction entitled Ægis-drekka---Ægir's Drinking-Banquet, a name applicable to the whole poem. Loki reviles the Æsir, who, after Baldur's death, have assembled at a banquet with Ægir; he attacks in a most shameless manner, first Bragi, then Idunna, Gefjon, Odin, Friga, Freyja, Njörð, and others, until Thor at length appears and drives him away. The prose conclusion (eptirmáli) describes his punishment. Loki-senna is a genuine heathen poem; its undertone is deeply tragic. The Æsir, in the true mythologic spirit, are far from angelic purity. They fall rather by their own fault into the final catastrophe, and Loki, although usually the blasphemer and liar, here speaks the truth. That which moves in the "Raven-Cry of Odin" as a dim foreboding, now appears distinctly in the consciousness of the Gods. Peace has disappeared with Baldur, and the fearful distraction which precedes their downfall has overpowered them. The inimitably beautiful manner in which all this is portrayed, renders the poem one of the profoundest and best finished of the Edda.
        Then follow the poems relating to the deeds of Thor. These appear to have been a favorite theme of the Old-Northern poets, as we find in many poems those of the Edda. Among the latter are the following:
        7. Hýmis-kviða---the Song of Hymir. The Gods of Ásgard are invited to a banquet with the Sea-God Ægir. Thor goes to the Jötun Hýmir for a huge cauldron in which to brew ale for the occasion. He persuades the giant to go with him on a fishing excursion, in which he fishes up and fights with the World-Serpent, carries off the cauldron, and finally slays Hýmer and other giants who pursue him.
        8. Þryms-kviða or Hamars-heimt---Thrym's Lay, or Bringing the Hammer. This is one of the most amusing poems of the Edda. The Giant Thrym has got possession of Thor's hammer, and will not give it up unless Freyja will consent to become his bride. The Goddess of Love refuses of course, and Loki persuades Thor to dress up in Freyja's clothes and go for it himself. The stratagem succeeds. Thor regains possession of his hammer, and with it kills the Giant Thrym and his followers.
        9. Harbarðs-ljóð---Harbarð's Lay: a dialogue between Thor and the ferryman Harbard, who refuses to carry him over a stream. This furnishes an occasion for each of them to recount his exploits. Harbarð is Odin, and it appears to be the object of the poem to show the points of contrast between Thor and Odin, and thereby express more definitely the peculiar attributes of each. The innate difference between them is implied by the river that separates them, but is directly expressed in the contrasted deeds and occupations of the two; for while Thor incessantly fights against the Jötuns, Harbarð (Odin) excites Kings and Rulers to battle, strikes down warriors and kisses the maidens.
        10. Alvís-mál---Speech of Alvis (the All-Wise). Alvís, a Dwarf, has come for Thor's daughter as his bride. Thor cunningly detains him all night by asking him questions concerning the various worlds he has visited. Alvís answers and teaches him the names by which the most important things in Nature are called in the respective languages of different worlds, of men, of the Æsir, Vanir, Jötuns, Elves, Dwarves, and finally, of the realms of the dead and of the Supreme Gods. The dwarf, being one of those mythic creations which cannot endure the light of day, had to leave without accomplishing his object.
        These four lays relating to the myths of Thor, are evidently of later origin than those previously named. The first two are filled with poetic extravagances not just adapted to the theme, such as Thor's great alimentive capacity; but Harbarðsljóð and Alvísmál are playful and witty, and the latter is quite learned and philological, more nearly allied to the later productions of the genuine Scaldic poesy.
        11. Skirnis-för---Skirnir's Journey, is one of the most simple and beautiful of the unconnected mythological poems. In the form of a dialogue it gives the story of Frey and Gerða, of his love to her, and his wooing her through the agency of his faithful attendant, from whom the poem is named.
        12. Fjöls-vins-mál---Speech of the Much-Knower, is a very obscure and unintelligible poem, containing the conversation between the hero Svipdag and the sentinel of Menglöð, his beloved, who forbids him to enter. The former, in order that he may not be recognized, calls himself Fjölsviðr: hence the name of the poem.
        13. Hyndlû-ljóð---Hyndla's Song, forms the transition to the epic poems. Freyja gets the giantess Hyndla to trace the genealogy of Ottar, her favorite, in which is given the descent of nearly all the races of Northern heroes: the Skjöldúnga, the Ylfinga, the Ynglinga, &c.
        14. Hávamál---the Speech of the High-One (Odin), is a collection of ethical poems. It was once believed, with all seriousness, that Odin in his own high person had composed it. The Hávamá contains precepts for daily life, prudential maxims, passages of experience, &c., inwoven with mythological episodes. (2) The connection of the several parts is very loose, yet the whole may be divided into four principal sections.
        The first, of a purely ethical character, embraces a variety of rules of life, full of patriarchal simplicity and truth, such as instructions for the host and traveler (stroph. 1 to 35) and precepts for domestic life and the household (36-104). The second part forms an episode relating how Odin obtained the poetic mead from Suttúng (105-111). The third, Lóðfafnismál (112-140) appears to be the instructions of a father to his son Lóðfafnir, which mostly consists of warnings against evil company and vice, and exhortations to hospitality. The Runic Chapter---Runa Kapituli or Runatals Þáttr Oðins---forms the conclusion, and contains, as the name implies, instruction in runic lore.
        15. The Rigsmál is a mythic-ethnologic poem, which with antique simplicity gives the origin of three distinct Castes in Society---the thralls, the middle class, and the nobles. The God Heimdall, the Warder of Heaven, wanders over the earth, when but a few of the immediate offspring of the first pair are yet scattered over its surface. He is hospitably entertained first by an humble pair called Ai and Edda (Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother); then by Afi and Amma (Grandfather and Grandmother), who are in better circumstances; and lastly by Faðir and Moðir (Father and Mother) who live in a splendid mansion. The Deity infuses a vital energy into his hosts, and afterward Edda, Amme and Moðir respectively give birth to a son, the offspring of the God. Edda's son is Þræl (Thrall); Amma's Karl (a vigorous, free-born man); and Moðir's, Jarl (Noble). They have each a numerous progeny. The descendants of Thræl are unsightly of countenance and deformed in stature; they have uncouth names, and are destined to toil continually; Karl's descendants are fair and seemly, and have becoming names; but the nobles are described in glowing terms as a superior race. This explanation of the three castes gives evidence of the aristocratic spirit which prevailed in Scandinavia at a very early period.
        16. Solar-ljóð---the Sun Song, is usually reckoned among the Eddaic lays. It is a Christian poem adorned with old-mythic images and representations. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Heaven and Hell, angels and devils, and other Christian personages and decorations appear in it and sufficiently stamp it as not Eddaic; yet it is found among the collected manuscripts.
        In the Epic poems of the Edda, which are mostly of later origin than the others, the old Heroes of the North step forth a vigorous and primitive race, who move in a sphere no less noble than that of the gods, but less limited and peculiar, as it is in a great measure common to the whole Germanic literature.
        Of this class there is a series of twenty Heroic Lays forming a complete Epos, a grand Epic in twenty cantos, containing the tragic story of the Völsúnga and Niflúnga races. The first three form a distinct group---the Songs of Helgi, the great hero of the Völsúnga race who is peculiar to the Northern Saga and unknown to the German. In true Homeric power these lays stand before all other poetry of the Edda, and in the love between Helgi and Sigrún there breathes an enduring mildness and depth of feeling that is scarcely equalled by any.
        Helgi brings us to the Völsúngar, whose history re-appears, although in a much-altered form, in the German Heroic Songs. The poems in which it appears in connection with the history of the Niflúngar occupy nearly half the Edda. Three heroic races figure in these poems:----1. The Völsúngar--the most celebrated, are the descendants of Völsúng. His son is Sigmund, and Sigmund's sons are the famous heroes Sinfjötli, Helgi, Hamdir, and Sigurd (the Germ. Siegfried). 2. The Niflúngar (Nibelungen) or Gjúkúngar, whose ancestor is Gjúki (the Germ. Gibich). By his consort Grimhild he has three sons, Gunnar (Gunther), Högni (Hagen), and Guttorm (Gernot), and the daughter Guðrún (Chrymhild). 3. The Buðlúngar, children of Buðli: Atli (Etzel, Attila), Brynhild and Oddrún; and from a branch of these three families appear new mythic forms, not of the heroic class: Hreiðmar and his sons Fafnir and Reginn.
        Sigurd, the hero of the legend, before entering on his heroic career, rides to his magic-skilled uncle Gripir and learns from him all his future destiny until his death by the Niflúngar. Afterward Reginn comes to Sigurd at the Court of King Hjálprek (Chilperic), tells him of the treasures which the Æsir have given to his father Hreiðmar in expiation for a murder, and which his brother Fafnir lies upon to guard, in the guise of a dragon. He invites Sigurd to fight with Fafnir and forges for him a sword. Sigurd slays the dragon after hehas put to death the sons of Hunding.
        Sigurd enters into a long conversation with the dying Fafnir and afterward eats his heart, whereby he learns the language of birds, and, warned by them, he kills the sleeping Reginn. Then he loads the fatal gold upon his steed and rides over green ways to the stronghold of Gjúki. Before his arrival there he finds Brynhild as a Valkyrja in a fortress surrounded by flames. He releases her from her enchanted sleep, and learns from her the Runic lore and other useful knowledge. He then comes to Gjúki, marries Guðrún, and by artifice conducts Brynhild to his brother-in-law, Gunnar, as his bride. But she discovers the fraud, and at her instigation the Völsúnga hero is murdered by Guttorm, the youngest Niflúnga brother. She then, consumed by grief, stabs herself with a sword, and in her dying words she announces to the Niflúnga race its tragic fate. The bodies of Brynhild and Sigurd are burned upon one funeral pile. Afterward Brynhild rides to the lower regions where she holds conversation with a sorceress. This forms the subject of one of the poems;---Helreið Brynhildar Buðladóttur---the Death-ride of Brynhild the daughter of Buðli, in which she briefly relates her history, and clears herself of the accusations which are made against here concerning the murder of Sigurd.
        At this stage the Niflúngar, who had hitherto played only a secondary part, become the heroes of the tragedy, and their destinies are celebrated in a series of touching songs, "which shall endure so long as the world stands."
        28. Guðrúnarkviða hin fyrsta---the First Song of Guðrún, depicts her grief after the death of her husband, and the vain consolations with which she was assailed by her kindred, as well as her journey to Denmark and other events of her widowhood.
        29. Dráp Niflúnga or Niflúnga Lók---The Death of the Niflúngar---a prose fragment, tells of the feud which broke out between Atli and the Gjúkúngar, on account of Brynhild's death, of the reconciliation by which Atli receives Guðrun as his wife,---her consent, being obtained only by means of a potion of forgetfulness, and of Atli's treachery in murdering Gunnar and Högni.
        30. The Second Song of Guðrún relates and bewails her sad fate. After a brief sketch of her youth, she alludes to Sigurd's death as the beginning of her sorrows, then speaks of her stay in Denmark, and dwells particularly on the fact that she had been forced by the magic arts of Grimhild to marry Atli against her inclination. Finally she imparts some of Atli's ill-boding dreams and her interpretations of them, as well as Atli's declaration that he could no longer sleep in peace after such dreams.

ENDNOTES:

1. The final destruction of the world and regeneration of the Gods and men in the Old-Norse Mythology is called Ragna-rökkr---the Twilight of the Gods. [Back]
2. See Chap. 27, Infra. [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.