Myths of the Norsemen Part 32

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).

The tears shed by all things for the beloved G.o.d are symbolical of the spring thaw, setting in after the hardness and cold of winter, when every tree and twig, and even the stones drip with moisture; Thok (coal) alone shows no sign of tenderness, as she is buried deep within the dark earth and needs not the light of the sun.

"And as in winter, when the frost breaks up, At winter's end, before the spring begins, And a warm west wind blows, and thaw sets in-- After an hour a dripping sound is heard In all the forests, and the soft-strewn snow Under the trees is dibbled thick with holes, And from the boughs the snow loads shuffle down; And, in fields sloping to the south, dark plots Of gra.s.s peep out amid surrounding snow, And widen, and the peasant's heart is glad-- So through the world was heard a dripping noise Of all things weeping to bring Balder back; And there fell joy upon the G.o.ds to hear."

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).

From the depths of their underground prison, the sun (Balder) and vegetation (Nanna) try to cheer heaven (Odin) and earth (Frigga) by sending them the ring Draupnir, the emblem of fertility, and the flowery tapestry, symbolical of the carpet of verdure which will again deck the earth and enhance her charms with its beauty.

The ethical signification of the myth is no less beautiful, for Balder and Hodur are symbols of the conflicting forces of good and evil, while Loki impersonates the tempter.

"But in each human soul we find That night's dark Hoder, Balder's brother blind, Is born and waxeth strong as he; For blind is ev'ry evil born, as bear cubs be, Night is the cloak of evil; but all good Hath ever clad in s.h.i.+ning garments stood.

The busy Loke, tempter from of old, Still forward treads incessant, and doth hold The blind one's murder hand, whose quick-launch'd spear Pierceth young Balder's breast, that sun of Valhal's sphere!"

Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).

The Wors.h.i.+p of Balder

One of the most important festivals was held at the summer solstice, or midsummer's eve, in honour of Balder the good, for it was considered the anniversary of his death and of his descent into the lower world. On that day, the longest in the year, the people congregated out of doors, made great bonfires, and watched the sun, which in extreme Northern lat.i.tudes barely dips beneath the horizon ere it rises upon a new day. From midsummer, the days gradually grow shorter, and the sun's rays less warm, until the winter solstice, which was called the "Mother night," as it was the longest night in the year. Midsummer's eve, once celebrated in honour of Balder, is now called St. John's day, that saint having entirely supplanted Balder the good.

CHAPTER XXII: LOKI

The Spirit of Evil

Besides the hideous giant Utgard-Loki, the personification of mischief and evil, whom Thor and his companions visited in Jotun-heim, the ancient Northern nations had another type of sin, whom they called Loki also, and whom we have already seen under many different aspects.

In the beginning, Loki was merely the personification of the hearth fire and of the spirit of life. At first a G.o.d, he gradually becomes "G.o.d and devil combined," and ends in being held in general detestation as an exact counterpart of the mediaeval Lucifer, the prince of lies, "the originator of deceit, and the back-biter" of the aesir.

By some authorities Loki was said to be the brother of Odin, but others a.s.sert that the two were not related, but had merely gone through the form of swearing blood brotherhood common in the North.

"Odin! dost thou remember When we in early days Blended our blood together?

When to taste beer Thou did'st constantly refuse Unless to both 'twas offered?"

Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).

Loki's Character

While Thor is the embodiment of Northern activity, Loki represents recreation, and the close companions.h.i.+p early established between these two G.o.ds shows very plainly how soon our ancestors realised that both were necessary to the welfare of mankind. Thor is ever busy and ever in earnest, but Loki makes fun of everything, until at last his love of mischief leads him entirely astray, and he loses all love for goodness and becomes utterly selfish and malevolent.

He represents evil in the seductive and seemingly beautiful form in which it parades through the world. Because of this deceptive appearance the G.o.ds did not at first avoid him, but treated him as one of themselves in all good-fellows.h.i.+p, taking him with them wherever they went, and admitting him not only to their merry-makings, but also to their council hall, where, unfortunately, they too often listened to his advice.

As we have already seen, Loki played a prominent part in the creation of man, endowing him with the power of motion, and causing the blood to circulate freely through his veins, whereby he was inspired with pa.s.sions. As personification of fire as well as of mischief, Loki (lightning) is often seen with Thor (thunder), whom he accompanies to Jotun-heim to recover his hammer, to Utgard-Loki's castle, and to Geirrod's house. It is he who steals Freya's necklace and Sif's hair, and betrays Idun into the power of Thia.s.si; and although he sometimes gives the G.o.ds good advice and affords them real help, it is only to extricate them from some predicament into which he has rashly inveigled them.

Some authorities declare that, instead of making part of the creative trilogy (Odin, Hoenir, and Lodur or Loki), this G.o.d originally belonged to a pre-Odinic race of deities, and was the son of the great giant Fornjotnr (Ymir), his brothers being Kari (air) and Hler (water), and his sister Ran, the terrible G.o.ddess of the sea. Other mythologists, however, make him the son of the giant Farbauti, who has been identified with Bergelmir, the sole survivor of the deluge, and of Laufeia (leafy isle) or Nal (vessel), his mother, thus stating that his connection with Odin was only that of the Northern oath of good-fellows.h.i.+p.

Loki (fire) first married Glut (glow), who bore him two daughters, Eisa (embers) and Einmyria (ashes); it is therefore very evident that Nors.e.m.e.n considered him emblematic of the hearth-fire, and when the flaming wood crackles on the hearth the goodwives in the North are still wont to say that Loki is beating his children. Besides this wife, Loki is also said to have wedded the giantess Angur-boda (the anguish-boding), who dwelt in Jotun-heim, and who, as we have already seen, bore him the three monsters: Hel, G.o.ddess of death, the Midgard snake Iormungandr, and the grim wolf Fenris.

"Loki begat the wolf With Angur-boda."

Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).

Sigyn

Loki's third marriage was with Sigyn, who proved a most loving and devoted wife, and bore him two sons, Narve and Vali, the latter a namesake of the G.o.d who avenged Balder. Sigyn was always faithful to her husband, and did not forsake him even after he had definitely been cast out of Asgard and confined in the bowels of the earth.

As Loki was the embodiment of evil in the minds of the Northern races, they entertained nothing but fear of him, built no temples to his honour, offered no sacrifices to him, and designated the most noxious weeds by his name. The quivering, overheated atmosphere of summer was supposed to betoken his presence, for the people were then wont to remark that Loki was sowing his wild oats, and when the sun appeared to be drawing water they said Loki was drinking.

The story of Loki is so inextricably woven with that of the other G.o.ds that most of the myths relating to him have already been told, and there remain but two episodes of his life to relate, one showing his better side before he had degenerated into the arch deceiver, and the other ill.u.s.trating how he finally induced the G.o.ds to defile their peace-steads by wilful murder.

Skrymsli and the Peasant's Child

A giant and a peasant were playing a game together one day (probably a game of chess, which was a favourite winter pastime with the Northern vikings). They of course had determined to play for certain stakes, and the giant, being victorious, won the peasant's only son, whom he said he would come and claim on the morrow unless the parents could hide him so cleverly that he could not be found.

Knowing that such a feat would be impossible for them to perform, the parents fervently prayed to Odin to help them, and in answer to their entreaties the G.o.d came down to earth, and changed the boy into a tiny grain of wheat, which he hid in an ear of grain in the midst of a large field, declaring that the giant would not be able to find him. The giant Skrymsli, however, possessed wisdom far beyond what Odin imagined, and, failing to find the child at home, he strode off immediately to the field with his scythe, and mowing the wheat he selected the particular ear where the boy was hidden. Counting over the grains of wheat he was about to lay his hand upon the right one when Odin, hearing the child's cry of distress, s.n.a.t.c.hed the kernel out of the giant's hand, and restored the boy to his parents, telling them that he had done all in his power to help them. But as the giant vowed he had been cheated, and would again claim the boy on the morrow unless the parents could outwit him, the unfortunate peasants now turned to Hoenir for aid. The G.o.d heard them graciously and changed the boy into a fluff of down, which he hid in the breast of a swan swimming in a pond close by. Now when, a few minutes later, Skrymsli came up, he guessed what had occurred, and seizing the swan, he bit off its neck, and would have swallowed the down had not Hoenir wafted it away from his lips and out of reach, restoring the boy safe and sound to his parents, but telling them that he could not further aid them.

Skrymsli warned the parents that he would make a third attempt to secure the child, whereupon they applied in their despair to Loki, who carried the boy out to sea, and concealed him, as a tiny egg, in the roe of a flounder. Returning from his expedition, Loki encountered the giant near the sh.o.r.e, and seeing that he was bent upon a fis.h.i.+ng excursion, he insisted upon accompanying him. He felt somewhat uneasy lest the terrible giant should have seen through his device, and therefore thought it would be well for him to be on the spot in case of need. Skrymsli baited his hook, and was more or less successful in his angling, when suddenly he drew up the identical flounder in which Loki had concealed his little charge. Opening the fish upon his knee, the giant proceeded to minutely examine the roe, until he found the egg which he was seeking.

The plight of the boy was certainly perilous, but Loki, watching his chance, s.n.a.t.c.hed the egg out of the giant's grasp, and transforming it again into the child, he instructed him secretly to run home, pa.s.sing through the boathouse on his way and closing the door behind him. The terrified boy did as he was told immediately he found himself on land, and the giant, quick to observe his flight, dashed after him into the boathouse. Now Loki had cunningly placed a sharp spike in such a position that the great head of the giant ran full tilt against it, and he sank to the ground with a groan, whereupon Loki, seeing him helpless, cut off one of his legs. Imagine the G.o.d's dismay, however, when he saw the pieces join and immediately knit together. But Loki was a master of guile, and recognising this as the work of magic, he cut off the other leg, promptly throwing flint and steel between the severed limb and trunk, and thereby hindering any further sorcery. The peasants were immensely relieved to find that their enemy was slain, and ever after they considered Loki the mightiest of all the heavenly council, for he had delivered them effectually from their foe, while the other G.o.ds had lent only temporary aid.

The Giant Architect

Notwithstanding their wonderful bridge Bifrost, the tremulous way, and the watchfulness of Heimdall, the G.o.ds could not feel entirely secure in Asgard, and were often fearful lest the frost giants should make their way into Asgard. To obviate this possibility, they finally decided to build an impregnable fortress; and while they were planning how this could be done, an unknown architect came with an offer to undertake the construction, provided the G.o.ds would give him sun, moon, and Freya, G.o.ddess of youth and beauty, as reward. The G.o.ds were wroth at so presumptuous an offer, but when they would have indignantly driven the stranger from their presence, Loki urged them to make a bargain which it would be impossible for the stranger to keep, and so they finally told the architect that the guerdon should be his, provided the fortress were finished in the course of a single winter, and that he accomplished the work with no other a.s.sistance than that of his horse Svadilfare.

"To Asgard came an architect, And castle offered to erect,-- A castle high Which should defy Deep Jotun guile and giant raid; And this most wily compact made: Fair Freya, with the Moon and Sun, As price the fortress being done."