Prose Edda - Anderson Trans.
Notes
Notes
Enea, Herikon and the Historical Odin
The Enea mentioned in the Foreword to Gylfe's Fooling refers to the settlement of western Europe, where Æneas is said to have founded a city on the Tiber. Bergmann, however, in his Fascination de Gulfi, page 28, refers it to the Thracian town Ainos.
HERIKON
Herikon is undoubtedly a mutilated form for Erichthonios. The genealogy here given corresponds with the one given in the Iliad, Book 20, 215.
THE HISTORICAL ODIN
The historical or anthropomorphized Odin, described in the Foreword to the Fooling of Gylfe, becomes interesting when we compare it with Snorre's account of that hero in Heimskringla, and then compare both accounts witht the Roman traditions about Æneas. Of course the whole story is only a myth; but we should remember that in the minds and hearts of our ancestors it served every purpose of genuine history. Our fathers accepted it in as good faith as any christian ever believed in the gospel of Christ, and so it had a similar influence in moulding the social, religious, political and literary life of our ancestors. We became interested in this legend as much as if it were genuine history, on account of the influence it wielded upon the minds and hearts of a race destined to act so great a part in the social, religious and political drama of Europe. We look into this and other ancestral myths, and see mirrored in them all that we afterward find to be reliable history of the old Teutons. In the same manner we are interested in the story told about Romulus and Remus, about Mars and the wolf. This Roman myth is equally prophetic in reference to the future career of Rome. The warlike Mars, the rapacity of the wolf, and the fratricide Romulus, form a mirror in which we see reflected the whole historical development of the Romans; so that the story of Romulus is a vest-pocket edition of the history of Rome.
There are many points of resemblance between this story of Odin and the account that Virgil gives us of Æneas, the founder of the Latin race; and it is believed that, while Virgil imitated Homer, he based his poem upon a legend current among his countrymen. The Greeks in Virgil's poem are Pompey and the Romans in our Teutonic story. The Trojans correspond to Mithridates and his allies. Æneas and Odin are identical. Just as Odin, a heroic defender of Mithridates, after traversing various unknown countries, finally reaches the north of Europe, organizes the various Teutonic kingdoms, settles his sons upon the thrones of Germany, England, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and instructs his people to gather strength and courage, so as eventually to take revenge on the cursed Romans; so Æneas, one of the most valiant defenders of Troy, after many adventures in various lands, at length settles in Italy, and becomes the founder of a race that in course of time is to wreak vengeance upon the Greeks. The prophecy contained in the Roman legend was fulfilled by Metellus and Mummius, in the years 147 and 146 before Christ, when the Romans became the conquerors of Greece. The prophecy contained in our Teutonic legend foreshadowed with no less unrelenting necessity the downfall of proud Rome, when the Teutonic commander Odoacer, in the year 476 after Christ, dethroned, not Romulus, brother of Remus, but Romulus Augustulus, son of Orestes. Thus history repeats itself. Roman history begins and ends with Romulus; and we fancy we can see some connection between Od-in and Od-oacer. "As the twig is bent the tree is inclined."
It might be interesting to institute a similar comparison between our Teutonic race-founder Odin and Ulysses, king of Ithaca, but the reader will have to do this for himself.
In one respect our heroes differ. The fall of Troy and the wanderings of Ulysses became the theme of two great epic poems among the Greeks. The wanderings and adventures of Æneas, son of Anchises, were fashioned into a lordly epic by Virgil for the Romans. But the much-traveled man, the anhr poludropoj, the weapons and the hero, Odin, who, driven by the norns, first came to Teutondom and to the Baltic shores, has not yet been sung. This wonderful expedition of our race-founder, which, by giving a historic cause to all the later hostilities and conflicts between the Teutons and the Romans, might, as suggested by Gibbon, supply the noble ground-work of an epic poem as thrilling as the Æneid of Virgil, has not yet been woven into a song for our race, and we give our readers this full account of Odin from the Heimskringla in connection with the Foreward to Gylfe's Fooling, with the hope that among our readers there may be found some descendant of Odin, whose skaldic wings are but just fledged for the flights he hopes to take, who will take a draught, first from Mimer's gushing fountain, then from Suttung's mead, brought by Odin to Asgard, and consecrate himself and his talents to this legend with all the ardor of his soul. For, as William Morris so beautifully says of the Volsung Saga, this is the great story of the Teutonic race, and should be to us what the tale of Æneas was to the Romans, to all our race first and afterward, when the evolution of the world has made the Teutonic race nothing more than a name of what it has been; a story, too, then, should it be to the races that come after us, no less than the Iliad, and the Odyssey and the Æneid have been to us. (1) We sincerely trust that we shall see Odin wrought into a Teutonic epic, that will present in grand outline the contrast between the Roman and the Teuton. And now we are prepared to give the Heimskringla account of the historical Odin. We have adopted Samuel Laing's translation, with a few verbal alterations where such seemed necessary.
It is said that the earth's circle (Heimskringla), which the human race inhabits, is torn across into many bights, so that great seas run into the land from the out-ocean. Thus it is known that a great sea goes into Njorvasound, (2) and up to the land of Jerusalem. From the same sea a long sea-bright stretches toward the northeast, and is called the Black Sea, and divides the three parts of the earth; of which the eastern part is called Asia, and the western is called by some Europe, by some Enea. (3) Northward of the Black Sea lies Svithjod the Great, (4) or the Cold. The Great Svithjod is reckoned by some not less than the Saracens' land, (5) others compare it to the Great Blueland. (6) The northern part of Svithjod lies uninhabited on account of frost and cold, as likewise the southern parts of Blueland are waste from the burning sun. In Svithjod are many great domains, and many wonderful races of men, and many kinds of languages. There are giants, (7) and there are dwarfs, (8) and there are also blue men. (9) There are wild beasts and dreadfully large dragons. On the north side of the mountains, which lie outside of all inhabited lands, runs a river through Svithjod, which is properly called by the name of Tanais, (10) but was formerly called Tanaquisl or Vanaquisl, and which falls into the ocean at the Black Sea. The country of the people on the Vanaquisl was called Vanaland or Vanaheim, and the river separates the three parts of the world, of which the easternmost is called Asia and the westernmost Europe.
The country east of the Tanaquisl in Asia was called Asaland or Asaheim, and the chief city in that land was called Asgard. (11) In that city was a chief called Odin, and it was a great place for sacrifice. it was the custom there that twelve temple-priests (12) should both direct the sacrifices and also judge the people. They were called priests or masters, and all the people served and obeyed them. Odin was a great and very far-traveled warrior, who conquered many kingdoms, and so successful was he that in every battle the victory was on his side. It was the belief of his people that victory belonged to him in every battle. It was his custom when he sent his men into battle, or on any expedition, that he first laid his hand upon their heads, and called down a blessing upon them; and then they believed their undertaking would be successful. His people also were accustomed, whenever they fell into danger by land or sea, to call upon his name; and they thought they always they got comfort and aid by it, for where he was they thought help was near. Often he went away so long that he passed many seasons on his journeys.
Odin had two brothers, the one hight Ve, the other Vile, (13) and they governed the kingdom when he was absent. It happened once when Odin had gone to a great distance, and had been so long away that the people of Asia doubted if he would ever return home, that his two brothers took it upon themselves to divide his estate; but both of them took his wife Frigg to themselves. Odin soon after returned home, and took his wife back.
Odin went out with a great army against the Vanaland people; but they were well prepared, and defended their land, so that victory was changeable, and they ravaged the lands of each other and did great damage. They tired of this at last, and, on both sides appointing a meeting for establishing peace, made a truce and exchanged hostages. The Vanaland people sent their best men,---Njord the Rich and his son Frey; the people of Asaland sent a man hight Hœner, (14) as he was a stout and very handsome man, and with him they sent a man of great understanding, called Mimer; and on the other side the Vanaland people sent the wisest man in their community, who was called Quaser. Now when Hœner came to Vanaheim he was immediately made a chief, and Mimer came to him with good counsel on all occasions. But when Hœner stood in the Things, or other meetings, if Mimer was not near him, and any difficult matter was laid before him, he always answered in one way: Now let others give their advice; so that the Vanaland people got a suspicion that the Asaland people had deceived them in the exchange of men. They took Mimer, therefore, and beheaded him, and sent his head to the Asaland people. Odin took the head, smeared it with herbs, so that it should not rot, and sang incantations over it. Thereby he gave it the power that it spoke to him, and discovered to him many secrets. (15) Odin placed Njord and Frey as priests of the sacrifices, and they became deities of the Asaland people. Njord's daughter, Freyja, was priestess of the sacrifices, and first taught the Asaland people the magic art, as it was in use and fashion among the Vanaland people. While Njord was with the Vanaland people he had taken his own sister in marriage, for that was allowed by their law; and their children were Frey and Freyja. But among the Asaland people it was forbidden to come together in so near relationship. (16)
There goes a great mountain barrier from northeast to southwest, which divides the Great Svithjod from other kingdoms. South of this mountain ridge is not far to Turkland, where Odin had great possessions. (17) But Odin, having foreknowledge and magic-sight, knew that his posterity would come to settle and dwell in the northern half of the world. In those times the Roman chiefs went wide around the world, subduing to themselves all people; and on this account many chiefs fled from their domains. (18) Odin set his brothers Vile and Ve over Asgard, and he himself, with all the gods and a great many other people, wandered out, first westward to Gardarike (Russia) and then south to Saxland (Germany). He had many sons, and after having subdued an extensive kingdom in Saxland he set his sons to defend the country. He himself went northward to the sea, and took up his abode in an
ENDNOTES:
1. Quoted from memory. [Back]
2. Njorvasound, the Straits of Gibraltar; so called from the first Norseman who sailed through them. His name was Njorve. See Ann. for nordisk Oldkyndighed, Vol. I, p. 58. [Back]
3. See note, page 221. [Back]
4. Svithjod the Great, or the Cold, is the ancient Sarmatia and Scythia Magna, and formed the great part of the present European Russia. In the mythological sagas it is also called Godheim; that is, the home of Odin and the other gods. Svithjod the Less is Sweden proper, and is called Mannheim; that is, the home of the kings, the descendants of the gods. [Back]
5. The Saracens' land (Serkland) means North Africa and Spain, and the Saracen countries in Asia; that is, Persia, Assyria, etc. [Back]
6. Blueland, the country of the blacks in Africa, the country south of Serkland, the modern Ethiopia. [Back]
7. Tartareans. [Back]
8. Kalmuks. [Back]
9. Mongolians. [Back]
10. The Tanais is the present Don River, which empties into the Sea of Asov. [Back]
11. Asgard is supposed, by those who look for historical fact in mythological tales, to be the present Assor; others, that it is Chasgar in the Caucasian ridge, called by Strabo Aspargum the Asburg, or castle of the asas. We still have in the Norse tongue the word Aas, meaning a ridge of high land. The word asas is not derived from Asia, as Snorre supposed. It is the O.H. Ger. ans; Anglo-Sax. os = a hero. The word also means a pillar; and in this latter sense the gods are the pillars of the universe. Connected with the word is undoubtedly Aas, a mountain-ridge, as supporter of the skies; and this reminds us of Atlas, as bearer of the world. [Back]
12. The temple-priests performed the functions of priest and judge, and their office continued hereditary throughout the heathen period of Norse history. [Back]
13. See Norse Mythology, page 174. [Back]
14. See Brage's Talk, p. 160; and Norse Mythology, pp. 247 and 342. [Back]
15. In the Vala's Prophecy of the Elder Edda it is said that Odin talks with the head of Mimer before the coming of Ragnarok. See Norse Mythology, p. 421. [Back]
16. This shows that the vans must have belonged to the mythological system of some older race that, like the ancient Romans (Liber and Libera), recognized the propriety of marriage between brothers and sisters, at least among their gods. Such marriages were not allowed among our Odinic ancestors. Hence we see that when Njord, Frey and Freyja were admitted to Asgard, they entered into new marriage relations. Njord married Skade, Frey married Gerd, and Freyja married Oder. Our ancestors were never savages! [Back]
17. Turkland was usually supposed to mean Moldau and Wallachia. Some, who regard the great mountain barrier as being the Ural Mountains, think Turkland is Turkistan in Asia. Asia Minor is also frequently styled Turkland. [Back]
18. Ancient Norse writers connect this event with Mithridates and Pompey the Great. They tell how Odin was a heroic prince who, with his twelve peers or apostles, dwelt in the Black Sea region. He became straightened for room, and so led the asas out of Asia into eastern Europe. Then they go on to tell how the Roman empire had arrived at its highest point of power, and saw all the then known world---the orbis terrarum---subject to its laws, when an unforeseen event raised up enemies against it from the very heart of the forests of Scythia, and on the banks of the Don river. The leader was Mithridates the Great, against whom the Romans waged three wars, and the Romans looked upon him as the most formidable enemy the empire had ever had to contend with. Cicero delivered his famous oration, Pro lege Manilia, and succeeded in getting Pompey appointed commander of the third war against Mithridates. The latter, by flying, had drawn Pompey after him into the wilds of Scythia. Here the king of Pontus sought refuge and new means of vengeance. He hoped to arm against the ambition of Rome all his neighboring nations whose liberties she threatened. He was successful at first, but all those Scythian peoples, ill-united as allies, ill-armed as soldiers, and still worse disciplined, were at length forced to yield to the genius of the great general Pompey. And here traditions tell us that Odin and the other asas were among the allies of Mithridates. Odin had been one of the gallant defenders of Troy, and at the same time, with Æneas and Anchises, he had taken flight out of the burning and falling city. Now he was obliged to withdraw a second time by flight, but this time it was not from the Greeks, but from the Romans, whom he had offended by assisting Mithridates. He was now compelled to go and seek, in lands unknown to his enemies, that safety which he could no longer find in the Scythian forests. He then proceeded to the north of Europe, and laid the foundations of the Teutonic natins. As fast as he subdued the countries in the west and north of Europe he gave them to one or another of his sons to govern. Thus it comes to pass that so many sovereign families throughout Teutondom are said to be descended from Odin. Hengist and Horsa, the chiefs of those Saxons who conquered Britain in the fifth century, counted Odin in the number of thier ancestors. The traditions go on to tell how he conquered Denmark, founded Odinse (Odinsve = Odin's Sanctuary; comp. ve with the German Wei in Weinacht), and gave the kingdom to his son Skjold (shield); how he conquered Sweden, founded the Sigtuna temple, and gave the country to his son Yngve; how finally Norway had to submit to him, and be ruled by a third son of Odin, Saming. It has been seriously contended,---and it would form an important element in an epic based on the historical Odin,---that a desire of being revenged on the Romans was one of the ruling principles of Odin's whole conduct. Driven by those foes of universal liberty from his former home in the east,his resentment was the more violent, since the Teutons thought it a sacred duty to revenge all injuries, especially those offered to kinsmen or country. Odin had no other view in traversing so many distant lands, and in establishing with so much zeal his doctrines of valor, than to arouse all Teutonic nations, and unite them against so formidable and odious a race as the Romans. And we, who live in the light of the nineteenth century, and with the records before us, can read the history of the convulsions of Europe during the decline of the Roman empire; we can understand how that leaven, which Odin left in the bosoms of the believers in the asa-faith, first fermented a long time in secret; but we can also see how in the fullness of time, the signal given, the descendants of Odin fell like a swarm of locusts upon this unhappy empire, and, after giving it many terrible shocks, eventually overturned it, thus completely avenging the insult offered so many centuries before by Pompey to their founder Odin. We can understand how it became possible for "those vast multitudes, which the populous north poured from her frozen loins, to pass the Rhine and the Danube, and come like a deluge on the south, and spread beneath Gibraltar and the Libyan sands;" how it were possible, we say, for them so largely to remodel and invigorate a considerable part of Europe, nay, how they could succeed in overrunning and overturning "the rich but rotten, the mighty but marrowless, the disciplined but diseased, Roman empire; that gigantic and heartless and merciless usurpation of soulless materialism and abject superstition of universal despotism, of systemized and relentless plunder, and of depravity deep as hell." In connection with this subject we would refer our readers to Mallet's Northern Antiquities, pp. 79-83, where substantially the same account is given; to Norse Mythology, pp. 232-236; to George Stephen's Runic Monuments, Vol. 1; and to Charles Kingsley's The Roman and the Teuton. [Back]
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