Part 4

Far down in Christian times there prevailed among the Scandinavians the idea that their heathen ancestors had believed in the existence of a place of joy, from which sorrow, pain, blemishes, age, sickness, and death were excluded. This place of joy was called Ódáinsakur, the-acre-of-the-not-dead, Jörð lifandi manna, the earth of living men. It was situated not in heaven but below, either on the surface of the earth or in the lower world, but it was separated from the lands inhabited by men in such a manner that it was not impossible, but nevertheless exceeding perilous, to get there.

A saga from the fourteenth century [Eireks saga Víðförla] incorporated in Flateyjarbók, and with a few textual modifications in Fornaldarsögur Norðurlanda, tells the following:

Erik, the son of a petty Norse king, one Christmas Eve, made the vow to seek out Odainsakur, and the fame of it spread over all Norway. In company with a Danish prince, who also was named Erik, he betook himself first to Mikligard (Constantinople), where the king engaged the young men in his service, and was greatly benefited by their warlike skill. One day the king talked with the Norwegian Erik about religion, and the result was that the latter surrendered the faith of his ancestors and accepted baptism. He told his royal teacher of the vow he had taken to find Odinsakur, - "frá honum heyrði vér sagt á voru landi," - and asked him if he knew where it was situated. The king believed that Odainsakur was identical with Paradise, and said it lies in the East beyond the farthest boundaries of India, but that no one was able to get there because it was enclosed by a fire-wall, which aspires to heaven itself. Still Erik was bound by his vow, and with his Danish namesake he set out on his journey, after the king had instructed them as well as he was able in regard to the way, and had given them a letter of recommendation to the authorities and princes through whose territories they had to pass. They travelled through Syria and the immense and wonderful India, and came to a dark country where the stars are seen all day long. After having traversed its deep forests, they saw when it began to grow light a river, over which there was a vaulted stone bridge. On the other side of the river there was a plain, from which came sweet fragrance. Erik conjectured that the river was the one called by the king in Mikligard Pison, and which rises in Paradise. On the stone bridge lay a dragon with wide open mouth. The Danish prince advised that they return, for he considered it impossible to conquer the dragon or to pass it. But the Norwegian Erik seized one of his men by one hand, and rushed with his sword in the other against the dragon. They were seen to vanish between the jaws of the monster. With the other companions the Danish prince then returned by the same route as he had come, and after many years he got back to his native land.

When Erik and his fellow-countryman had been swallowed by the dragon, they thought themselves enveloped in smoke; but it was scattered, and they were unharmed, and saw before them the great plain lit up by the sun and covered with flowers. There flowed rivers of honey, the air was still, but just above the ground were felt breezes that conveyed the fragrance of the flowers. It is never dark in this country, and objects cast no shadow. Both the adventurers went far into the country in order to find, if possible, inhabited parts. But the country seemed to be uninhabited. Still they discovered a tower in the distance. They continued to travel in that direction, and on coming nearer they found that the tower was suspended in the air, without foundation or pillars. A ladder led up to it. Within the tower there was a room, carpeted with velvet, and there stood a beautiful table with delicious food in silver dishes, and wine in golden goblets. There were also splendid beds. Both the men were now convinced that they had come to Odainsakur, and they thanked God that they had reached their destination. They refreshed themselves and laid themselves to sleep. While Erik slept there came to him a beautiful lad, who called him by name, and said he was one of the angels who guarded the gates of Paradise, and also Erik's guardian angel, who had been at his side when he vowed to go in search of Odainsakur. He asked whether Erik wished to remain where he now was or to return home. Erik wished to return to report what he had seen. The angel informed him that Odainsakur, or jörð lifandi manna, where he now was, was not the same place as Paradise, for to the latter only spirits could come, and the land of the spirits, Paradise, was so glorious that, in comparison, Odainsakur seemed like a desert. Still, these two regions are on each other's borders, and the river which Erik had seen has its source in Paradise. The angel permitted the two travellers to remain in Odainsakur for six days to rest themselves. Then they returned by way of Mikligard to Norway, and there Erik was called víðförli, the far-travelled.

In regard to Erik's genealogy, the saga states (Fornald. Saga, iii. 519) that his father's name was Þrándr, that his aunt (mother's sister) was a certain Svanhvít [Swan-white], and that he belonged to the race of Þjazi's daughter Skaði. Further on in the domain of the real myth, we shall discover an Erik who belongs to Þjazi's family, and whose mother is a swan-maid (goddess of growth). This latter Erik also succeeded in seeing Odainsakur (see Nos. 102, 103).