Davidson says that Celts and Germanics alike had tales that emphasize the importance of the great cauldron for holding mead or ale in the other world. (238) We see this in the Eddic poems Lokasenna and in Hymskvitha.

3. "The word-wielder toil for the giant worked,
And so revenge on the gods he sought;
He bade Sif's mate the kettle bring:
"Therein for ye all much ale shall I brew." (239)

5. "There dwells to the east of Elivagar
Hymir the wise at the end of heaven;
A kettle my father fierce doth own,
A mighty vessel a mile in depth." (240)

This lay is the story of how Thorr brings back the massive cauldron of Hymir. It was only this cauldron that was large enough for Aegir to brew enough mead for the feasting gods and goddesses.

  The importance of hallowing the ale or mead for the full is shown in many places in the lore. One way this was done was by passing the horn of mead over or around a fire. The hallowing of the mead with fire seems to have been an essential part of the full. (241) Other sources show that the drink was hallowed by the Jarl of the feast before the drinks were passed out. (242) It is also possible that the drink was hallowed by virtue of being in a hallowed cauldron. (243) What ever the method of hallowing the mead was, we do know for sure that it was considered important to hallow the mead or ale before drinking.

  The custom of using a bulls horn to drink the full with is one that is undoubtedly an ancient one. One of the first mentions of it comes from Caesar in his Gallic Wars. He says that the Germans put great value on the horns of the auroch. He describes them with rims of silver and always used at their great feasts. (244) These horns were still used at the end of the Viking Age. These were used in Norwegian courts until the eleventh century when Olaf the Quiet replaced them with 'cups which could be filled at table.' A beautiful pair of gold drinking horns of Germanic workmanship was discovered near Gallehus in North Schleswig in the eighteenth century. These horns date from the fifth century and one of them was inscribed with runes. They were used in the kings court until they were stolen by a thief who melted them down before he was caught. There was a series of rings that decorated these horns and these rings were decorated with scenes of dancing and sporting events. There were also men with animal heads, a three headed giant and horses and there is a woman shown carrying a horn. Scholars theorize that these horns were meant to be used at seasonal rites. (245) Another pair of horns dated from the seventh century were found at the ship grave in Sutton Hoo and these were finely decorated with silver-gilted rims and tips. (246)

  There were also legendary horns. There was one called Grim the Good that had a man's head on the tip and was said to speak and be able to foretell the future. (247) The giving of the name Grim to horns would connect them to Othinn of whom the brewing of ale and mead was associated with. (248)

  There are many depictions of a female figure carrying a horn and this could be an indication that the bearing of the horn of mead might have been traditionally done by a woman and this position might have been one of honor. This is possibly a mirroring of Othinn's Valkyries who carry the horns of mead to the einherjar in Vallhöll. This image is seen on a number of stones from the Viking Age that were set up as memorials. There were amulets of these mead horn carrying women as well. One example was on an amulet found in Sweden in the cemetery in Birka. The same woman appears on carved stones from tenth century England. And as we noted above the fifth century Gallehus horn has an image of this woman as well. (249)

  As they did with so many other aspects of the Northern faith the Christians took the full and adapted it for their own use. In early Christian Norway, there was a law that encouraged the brewing of ale for certain festivals such as All Hallowmas and Christmas. The ale at these feasts was to be consecrated to Christ and Mary for peace and plenty, in the same way it had been dedicated to Njörthr and Freyr for the same reasons previously. To fail to do so meant the person committing the infraction had to pay a fine to the bishop. Instead of drinking the full to the Northern gods and goddesses and departed ancestors they instead drank to Christ, Mary, St. Martin, St. Olaf and other saints as well as the Holy Ghost. The substituting of Christ, Mary and the saints for the Northern gods and goddesses and departed ancestors for the full was suggested to Olaf Tryggvasson in dream by St. Martin. This practice was observed as late as the seventeenth century at wedding feasts in Iceland. (250) There was also a Christian custom called St. John's mine which was a toast in memory of St. John. (251) As the full was such a strong part of Northern tradition it is not hard to see that these later Christian customs have their roots in the Northern practice.

  The minni-full (memory toast) is a practice that has continued to this day and the modern custom of the toast has it roots in this Northern custom. Grimm says that, "At Othergen a village of Hildesheim, on Dec. 27 every year a chalice of wine is hallowed by the priest, and handed to the congregation in the church to drink as Johannis segen (blessing); it is not done in any of the neighboring places. In Sweden and Norway we find at Candlemas a dricka eldborgs skål, drinking a toast." (252) It is also obvious that the practice of drinking to the saints at medieval guild-feasts in Scandinavia had their roots in the full as well. (253) The Gothland Karin's Guild drank to Christ, St. Catharine and Our Lady, while the Swedish Eric's Guild to St. Eric, Our Saviour and Our Lady. At the funeral of Harald of Denmark who had been converted to Christianity, the full was drank in honor of Christ, St. Michael and to the memory of the dead king. (254)

  Since we know that drinking of the full many times included the taking of an oath, I think it would be good to, here, take a look at the oath. The oath was normally sworn on an object. Many times this object was the oath ring and this oath ring was a holy item in the hof. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle gives an example of the oath ring being used by the Danes (255) in 876 and there is an account of a ring called Thor's ring on which oaths were sworn. Thor presided over the Assembly, which opened on Thursday (Thor's Day) in Iceland. (256) In Eyrbyggja Saga the oath ring was described as being 20 ounces of silver. When not in use it lay on the stalli and during feasts the gothi wore it on his arm. (257) In the description of Thórólf's hof in Iceland, the ring is described as being 2 ounces and was worn on the finger of the gothi during all assemblies. Like the description in Eyrbyggja Saga, this ring laid on the stalli of the hof when not in use. (258)

  In Landnámabók we have a very good description of the oath ring and its use. It was to be at least two ounces or more and when not in use it would lay on the stalli. As in the previous examples it was to be worn by the hof-gothi at all assemblies and here we find out that it was to be reddened by blood from the sacrificial animal before hand. Here also we find the basis for the modern practice of taking an oath on the Christian Bible in courts of law for every man who had a case in the Thing (law assembly) was required to swear an oath on this ring and name two witnesses. The oath was worded thusly: "I name [the two witnesses] witnesses herein, that I take an oath on the ring, a lawful oath, ---so help me Frey and Njörd and the Almighty Ás (Othinn), as I shall pursue (or defend) this suit, or bear witness, or give verdict or judgment, according to what I know to be most right and true and in accordance with the law." The example we have in Víga-Glúms Saga agrees very closely with this account. The man taking the oath was to take it on a silver ring not less than three ounces that had been dipped in the blood of a sacrificed ox. Glúm used the following words to swear his oath: "I take a temple-oath on the ring, and I say to the god,' etc. " Freyr and Njörth are not used in this oath, instead only 'the god' is mentioned. (259) The above examples that list the ring as being 2 ounces may be a mistranslation. For examples the description given in Eyrbyggja Saga listed above gives the ring as being 2 ounces. The actual text for this is 20 eyrar which Davidson says is about 550 grams or roughly 17.5 ounces. This would be a more logical weight for a ring that was worn on the arm. (260)

  While rings were mentioned many times as the object on which oaths were sworn, there were others. According to Grimm oaths were sworn by the river Leiptr. (261) As we saw in the section dealing with the full, oaths were sworn over the horn of mead and there are also examples of oaths being sworn on a boar during Yule and on holy stones.

  We know without doubt that Thorr's hammer was used in hallowing. As it can be shown that the Christian practice of the sign of the cross did not come into being until they began to make inroads into Northern Europe and therefore was most likely yet another Christian adaptation of a Northern custom, and coupled with other literary evidence, we have good cause to believe that the sign of the hammer was a genuine Northern practice used for hallowing. Grimm supports this when he says, "As the North made the sign of Thor's hammer, christians used the cross for the blessing (segnung) of the cup; conf. poculum signare, Walthar. 225, precisely the Norse signa full. (262) Davidson likewise agrees when she says, "The popularity of the hammer sign and the uses it was put to in the Viking Age indicate the strength of the cult of Thor in Norway and Iceland <<(Fig. 28)>>. It was used to mark boundary-stones, was raised over a new-born child as a mark of its acceptance in the community, and according to the poem Thrymskviða was brought in at weddings to hallow the bride, and laid on her lap. It was also depicted on memorial stones for the dead, to whom Thor's protection extended, while the conception of the hammer restoring the dead to life is found in the myth of Thor raising his goats to life after they had been killed and eaten." (263) This is described in Gylfaginning 44. After having eaten his goats, he takes the skins of the goats and lays the bones on them and, with his hammer, hallows them and brings them back to life. (264) The sign of the hammer was also used at burials to hallow the dead and the burial ground. (265) In the Prose Edda, Gylfaginning 49, Thor hallows the funeral pyre of his Brother Baldr with his hammer. (266) In the saga of Hakon the Good we have what could be the description of the sign of the hammer being made over mead. Here, Jarl Sigurd is hosting a feast in which the Christianized King Hakon attends. Sigurd spoke some words over a horn of mead and blessed it in Othinn's name and then passed it to Hakon. Hakon took the mead and made the sign of the cross over it. When asked what the king had done, Sigurd explains it as the king making the sign of the hammer over it as all do who trust in their own power and strength. (267) There is a lot of debate about whether or not this is an example of a genuine Northern practice being depicted but I think that, at the very least, we must admit that it is a strong possibility. What we can say without doubt is that Thorr's hammer was used for hallowing and the making of a sign to represent it in the absence of having a hammer is not only likely, but completely within reason.