Part 5

When the war between the Asas and the Vans had broken out, Svipdag, as we have learned, espouses the cause of the Vans (see Nos. 33, 38), to whom he naturally belongs as the husband of the Vana-dis Freyja and Frey's most intimate friend. The happy issue of the war for the Vans gives Svipdag free hands in regard to Halfdan's hated son Hadding, the son of the woman for whose sake Svipdag's mother Groa was rejected. Meanwhile Svipdag offers Hadding reconciliation, peace, and a throne among the Teutons (see No. 38). When Hadding refuses to accept gifts of mercy from the slayer of his father, Svipdag persecutes him with irreconcilable hate. This hatred finally produces a turning-point in Svipdag's fortunes and darkens the career of the brilliant hero. After the Asas and Vans had become reconciled again, one of their first thoughts must have been to put an end to the feud between the Teutonic tribes, since a continuation of the latter was not in harmony with the peace restored among the gods (see No. 41). Nevertheless the war was continued in Midgard (see No. 41), and the cause is Svipdag. He has become a rebel against both Asas and Vans, and herein we must look for the reason why, as we read in the Younger Edda, he disappeared from Asgard (Gylfaginning 35). But he disappears not only from the world of the gods, but finally also from the terrestrial seat of war, and that god or those gods who were to blame for this conceal his unhappy and humiliating fate from Freyja. It is at this time that the faithful and devoted Vana-dis goes forth to seek her lover in all worlds (með ókunnum þjóðum).

Saxo gives us two accounts of Svipdag's death - the one clearly converted into history, the other corresponiding faithfully with the mythology. The former reports that Hadding conquered and slew Svipdag in a naval battle (Book I, p. 25). The latter gives us the following account (Book I, p. 29):

While Hadding lived in exile in a northern wilderness, after his great defeat in conflict with the Swedes, it happened, on a sunny, warm day, that he went to the sea to bathe. While he was washing himself in the cold water he saw an animal of a most peculiar kind (bellua inauditi generis), and came into combat with it. Hadding slew it with quick blows and dragged it on shore. But while he rejoiced over this deed a woman put herself in his way and sang a song, in which she let him know that the deed he had now perpetrated should bring fearful consequences until he succeded in reconciling the divine wrath which this murder had called down upon his head. All the forces of nature, wind and wave, heaven and earth, were to be his enemies unless he could propitiate the angry gods, for the being whose life he had taken was a celestial being concealed in the guise of an animal, one of the super-terrestrial:

Quippe unum e superis alieno corpore tectum
Sacrilegæ necuere manus: sic numinis almi
Interfector ades.

It appears, however, from the continuation of the narrative, that Hadding was unwilling to repent what he had done, although he was told that the one he had slain was a supernatural being, and that he long refused to propitiate those gods whose sorrow and wrath he had awakened by the murder. Not until the predictions of the woman were confirmed by terrible visitations does Hadding make up his mind to reconcile the powers in question. And this he does by instituting the sacrificial feast, which is called Frey's offering, and thenceforth was celebrated in honour of Frey (Fro deo rem divinam furvis hostiis fecit).

Hadding's refusal to repent what he had done, and the defiance he showed the divine powers, whom he had insulted by the murder he had committed, can only be explained by the fact that these powers were the Vana-gods who long gave succour to his enemies (see No. 39), and that the supernatural being itself, which, concealed in the guise of an animal, was slain by him, was some one whose defeat gave him pleasure, and whose death he considered himself bound and entitled to cause. This explanation is fully corroborated by the fact that when he learns that Odin and the Asas, whose favourite he was, no longer hold their protecting hands over him, and that the propitiation advised by the prophetess becomes a necessity to him, he institutes the great annual offering to Frey, Svipdag's brother-in-law. That this god especially must be propitiated can, again, have no other reason than the fact that Frey was a nearer kinsman than any of the Asa-gods to the supernatural being, from whose slayer he (Frey) demanded a ransom. And as Saxo has already informed us that Svipdag perished in a naval engagement with Hadding, all points to the conclusion that in the celestial person who was concealed in the guise of an animal and was slain in the water we must discover Svipdag Freyja's husband.

Saxo does not tell us what animal guise it was. It must certainly have been a purely fabulous kind, since Saxo designates it as bellua inauditi generis. An Anglo-Saxon record, which is to be cited below, designates it as uyrm and draca. That Svipdag, sentenced to wear this guise, kept himself in the water near the shore of a sea, follows from the fact that Hadding meets and kills him in the sea where he goes to bathe. Freyja, who sought her lost lover everywhere, also went in search for him to the realms of Ægir and Rán. There are reasons for assuming that she found him again, and, in spite of his transformation and the repulsive exterior he thereby got, she remained with him and sought to soothe his misery with her faithful love. One of Freyja's surnames shows that she at one time dwelt in the bosom of the sea. The name is Mardöll. Another proof of this is the fragment preserved to our time of the myth concerning the conflict between Heimdal and Loki in regard to Brisingamen. This neck- and breast-ornament, celebrated in song both among the Teutonic tribes of England and those of Scandinavia, one of the most splendid works of the ancient artists, belonged to Freyja (Þrymskviða 13, Gylfaginning 35, Skáldskaparmál 28). She wore it when she was seeking Svipdag and found him beneath the waves of the sea; and the splendour which her Brisingamen diffused from the deep over the surface of the sea is the epic interpretation of the name Mardöll from mar, "sea," and döll, feminine of dallur (old English deall, "glittering" (compare the names Heimdallur and Dellingur). Mardöll thus means "the one diffusing a glimmering in the sea". The fact that Brisingamen, together with its possessor, actually was for a time in Ægir's realm is proved by its epithet fagurt hafnýra, "the fair kidney of the sea," which occurs in a strophe of Ulf Uggason (Skáldskaparmál 23). There was also a skerry, Vágasker, Singasteinn, on which Brisingamen lay and glittered, when Loki, clad in the guise of a seal, tried to steal it. But before he accomplished his purpose, there crept upon the skerry another seal, in whose looks - persons in disguise were not able to change their eyes - the evil and cunning descendant of Farbauti must quickly have recognised his old opponent Heimdal. A conflict arose in regard to the possession of the ornament, and the brave son of the nine mothers became the victor and preserved the treasure for Asgard.

To the Svipdag synonyms Óður (Hotharus), Óttar (Otharus), Eirekur (Ericus), and Skírnir, we must finally add one more, which is, perhaps, of Anglo-Saxon origin: Hermóður, Heremod.

From the Norse mythic records we learn the following in regard to Hermod:

(a) He dwelt in Asgard, but did not belong to the number of the ruling gods. He is called Odin's sveinn (Gylfaginning 49, Codex Regius), and he was the Asa-father's favourite, and received from him helmet and cuirass (Hyndluljóð 2).

(b) He is called inn hvati (Gylfaginning 49), the rapid. When Frigg asks if anyone desires to earn her favour and gratitude by riding to the realm of death and offering Hel a ransom for Baldur, Hermod offers to take upon himself this task. He gets Odin's horse Sleipnir to ride, proceeds on his way to Hel, comes safely to that citadel in the lower world, where Baldur and Nanna abide the regeneration of the earth, spurs Sleipnir over the castle wall, and returns to Asgard with Hel's answer, and with the ring Draupnir, and with presents from Nanna to Frigg and Fulla (Gylfaginning 49).

From this it appears that Hermod has a position in Asgard resembling Skirnir's; that he, like Skirnir, is employed by the gods as a messenger when important or venturesome errands are to be undertaken; and that he, like Skirir, then gets that steed to ride, which is able to leap over vafurflames and castle-walls. We should also bear in mind that Skirnir-Svipdag had made celebrated journeys in the same world to which Hermod is now sent to find Baldur. As we know, Svipdag had before his arrival in Asgard travelled all over the lower world, and had there fetched the sword of victory. After his adoption in Asgard, he is sent by the gods to the lower world to get the chain Gleipnir (Gylfaginning 34).

(c) In historical times Hermod dwells in Valhall, and is one of the chief einherjes there. When Hakon the Good was on the way to the hall of the Asa-father, the latter sent Bragi and Hermod to meet him (Hákonarmál 14):

Hermóður og Bragi,
kvað Hroptatýr,
gangið í gegn grami,
því að konungur fer
sá er kappi þykir
til hallar hinig.

This is all there is in the Norse sources about Hermod.

Further information concerning him is found in the Beowulf poem, which in two passages (str. 1747, &c., and 3419, &c.) compares him with its own unselfish and blameless hero, Beowulf, in order to make it clear that the latter was in moral respects superior to the famous hero of antiquity. Beowulf was related by marriage to the royal dynasty then reigning in his land, and was reared in the king's halls as an older brother of his sons. The comparisons make these circumstances, common to Beowulf and Hermod, the starting-point, and show that while Beowulf became the most faithful guardian of his young foster-brothers, and in all things maintained their rights, Hermod conducted himself in a wholly different manner. Of Hermod the poem tells us:

(a) He was reared at the court of a Danish king (str. 1818, &c., 3422, &c.).

(b) He set out on long journeys, and became the most celebrated traveller that man ever heard of (se wæs wreccena wide mærost ofer wer-þeóde - str. 1800-1802).

(c) He performed great exploits (str. 1804).

(d) He was endowed with powers beyond all other men (str. 3438-39).

(e) God gave him a higher position of power than that accorded to mortals (str. 3436, &c.).

(f) But although he was reared at the court of the Danish king, this did not turn out to the advantage of the Skjoldungs, but was a damage to them (str. 3422, &c.), for there grew a bloodthirsty heart in his breast.

(g) When the Danish king died (the poem does not say how) he left young sons.

(h) Hermod, betrayed by evil passions that got the better of him, was the cause of the ruin of the Skjoldungs, and of a terrible plague among the Danes, whose fallen warriors for his sake covered the battlefields. His table-companions at the Danish court he consigned to death in a fit of anger (str. 3426, &c.).

(i) The war continues a very long time (str. 1815, &c., str. 3447).

(k) At last there came a change, which was unfavourable to Hermod, whose superiority in martial power decreased (str. 1806).

(l) Then he quite unexpectedly disappeared (str. 3432) from the sight of men.

(m) This happened against his will. He had suddenly been banished and delivered to the world of giants, where "waves of sorrow" long oppressed him (str. 1809, &c.).

(n) He had become changed to a dragon (wyrm, draca).

(o) The dragon dwelt near a rocky island in the sea under harne stan (beneath a grey rock).

(p) There he slew a hero of the Volsung race (in the Beowulf poem Sigemund - str. 1747, &c.).

All these points harmonise completely with Svipdag's saga, as we have found it in other sources. Svipdag is the stepson of Halfdan the Skjoldung, and has been reared in his halls, and dwells there until his mother Groa is turned out and returns to Orvandil. He sets out like Hermod on long journeys, and is doubtless the most famous traveller mentioned in the mythology; witness his journey across the Elivagar, and his visit to Jotunheim while seeking Frey and Freyja; his journey across the frosty mountains, and his descent to the lower world, where he traverses Niflheim, sees the Eyludur mill, comes into Mimir's realm, procures the sword of victory, and sees the glorious castle of the ásmegir; witness his journey over Bifrost to Asgard, and his warlike expedition to the remote East (see also Gylfaginning 34, where Skirnir is sent to Svartalfaheim to fetch the chain Gleipnir). He is, like Hermod, endowed with extraordinary strength, partly on account of his own inherited character, partly on account of the songs of incantation sung over him by Groa, on account of the nourishment of wisdom obtained from his stepmother, and finally on account of the possession of the indomitable sword of victory. By being adopted in Asgard as Freyja's husband, he is, like Hermod, elevated to a position of power greater than that which mortals may expect. But all this does not turn out to be a blessing to the Skjoldungs, but is a misfortune to them. The hatred he had cherished toward the Skjoldung Halfdan is transferred to the son of the latter, Hadding, and he persecutes him and all those who are faithful to Hadding, makes war against him, and is unwilling to end the long war, although the gods demand it. Then he suddenly disappears, the divine wrath having clothed him with the guise of a strange animal, and relegated him to the world of water-giants, where he is slain by Hadding (who in the Norse heroic saga becomes a Volsung, after Halfdan, under the name Helgi Hundingsbani, was made a son of the Volsung Sigmund).

Hermod is killed on a rocky island under harne stan. Svipdag is killed in the water, probably in the vicinity of the Vágasker and the Singasteinn, where the Brisingamen ornament of his faithful Mardöll is discovered by Loki and Heimdal.

Freyja's love and sorrow may in the mythology have caused the gods to look upon Svipdag's last sad fate and death as a propitiation of his faults. The tears which the Vana-dis wept over her lover were transformed, according to the mythology, into gold, and this gold, the gold of a woman's faithfulness, may have been regarded as a sufficient compensation for the sins of her dear one, and doubtless opened to Svipdag the same Asgard-gate which he had seen opened to him during his life. This explains that Hermod is in Asgard in the historical time, and that, according to a revelation to the Swedes in the ninth century, the ancient King Erik was unanimously elevated by the gods as a member of their council.

Finally, it should be pointed out that the Svipdag synonym Óður has the same meaning as môd in Heremôd, and as ferhd in Svidferhd, the epithet with which Hermod is designated in the Beowulf strophe 1820. Óður means "the one endowed with spirit," Heremôd "the one endowed with martial spirit," Svidferhd "the one endowed with mighty spirit".

Heimdal's and Loki's conflict in regard to Brisingamen has undoubtedly been an episode in the mythic account of Svipdag's last fortunes and Freyja's abode with him in the sea. There are many reasons for this assuniption. We should bear in mind that Svipdag's closing career constituted a part of the great epic of the first world war, and that both Heimdal and Loki take part in this war, the former on Hadding's, the latter on Gudhorm-Jormunrek's and Svipdag's side (see Nos. 38, 39, 40). It should further be remembered that, according to Saxo, at the time when he slays the monster, Hadding is wandering about as an exile in the wildernesses, and that it is about this time that Odin gives him a companion and protector in Liserus-Heimdal (see No. 40). The unnamed woman, who after the murder had taken place puts herself in Hadding's way, informs him whom he has slain, and calls the wrath of the gods and the elements down upon him, must be Freyja herself, since she witnessed the deed and knew who was concealed in the guise of the dragon. So long as the latter lived Brisingamen surely had a faithful watcher, for it is the nature of a dragon to brood over the treasures he finds. After being slain and dragged on shore by Hadding, his "bed," the gold, lies exposed to view on Vagasker, and the glimmer of Brisingamen reaches Loki's eyes. While the woman, in despair on account of Svipdag's death, stands before Hadding and speaks to him, the ornament has no guardian, and Loki finds the occasion convenient for stealing it. But Heimdal, Hadding's protector, who in the mythology always keeps his eye on the acts of Loki and on his kinsmen hostile to the gods, is also present, and he too has seen Brisingamen. Loki has assumed the guise of a seal, while the ornament lies on a rock in the sea, Vágasker, and it can cause no suspicion that a seal tries to find a resting-place there. Heimdal assumes the same guise, the seals fight on the rock, and Loki must retire with his errand unperformed. The rock is also called Singasteinn (Skáldskaparmál 15, 23), a name in which I see the Anglo-Saxon Sincastân, "the ornament rock". An echo of the combat about Brisingamen reappears in the Beowulf poem, where Heimdal (not Hamdir) appears under the name Hâma, and where it is said that "Hâma has brought to the weapon-glittering citadel (Asgard) Brosingamene," which was "the best ornament under heaven"; whereupon it is said that Hâma fell "into Eormenric's snares," with which we should compare Saxo's account of the snares laid by Loki, Jormenrek's adviser, for Liserus-Heimdal and Hadding [*].

[* As Jordanes confounded the mythological Gudhorm-Jormunrek with the historical Ermanarek, and connected with the history of the latter the heroic saga of Ammius-Hamdir, it lay close at hand to confound Hamdir with Heimdal, who, like Hamdir, is the foe of the mythical Jormunrek.]