Myths of the Norsemen Part 47

The hero immediately understood that the G.o.ds had thus indicated a means of atonement, and he grudged neither wealth nor pains until a glorious temple and grove, which far exceeded the splendour of the old shrine, rose out of the ruins.

"Finish'd great Balder's Temple stood!

Round it no palisade of wood Ran now as erst; A railing stronger, fairer than the first, And all of hammer'd iron--each bar Gold-tipp'd and regular-- Walls Balder's sacred House. Like some long line Of steel-clad champions, whose bright war-spears s.h.i.+ne And golden helms afar--so stood This glitt'ring guard within the holy wood!

"Of granite blocks enormous, join'd with curious care And daring art, the ma.s.sy pile was built; and there (A giant-work intended To last till time was ended,) It rose like Upsal's temple, where the north Saw Valhall's halls fair imag'd here on earth.

"Proud stood it there on mountain-steep, its lofty brow Reflected calmly on the sea's bright-flowing wave.

But round about, some girdle like of beauteous flow'rs, Went Balder's Dale, with all its groves' soft-murmur'd sighs, And all its birds' sweet-twitter'd songs,--the Home of Peace."

Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).

Meantime, while the timbers were being hewed, King Helge was absent upon a foray amongst the Finnish mountains. One day it chanced that his band pa.s.sed by a crag where stood the lonely shrine of some forgotten G.o.d, and King Helge scaled the rocky summit with intent to raze the ruined walls. The lock held fast, and, as Helge tugged fiercely at the mouldered gate, suddenly a sculptured image of the deity, rudely summoned from his ancient sleep, started from his niche above.

Heavily he fell upon the head of the intruder, and Helge stretched his length upon the rocky floor, nor stirred again.

When the temple was duly consecrated to Balder's service, Frithiof stood by the altar to await the coming of his expected bride. But Halfdan first crossed the threshold, his faltering gait showing plainly that he feared an unfriendly reception. Seeing this, Frithiof unbuckled his sword and strode frankly to Halfdan with hand outstretched, whereupon the king, blus.h.i.+ng deeply, grasped heartily the proffered hand, and from that moment all their differences were forgotten. The next moment Ingeborg approached and the renewed amity of the long-sundered friends was ratified with the hand of the bride, which Halfdan placed in that of his new brother.

"Over the copper threshold Halfdan now, With pallid brow And fearful fitful glance, advanceth slow Tow'rds yonder tow'ring ever-dreaded foe-- And, silent, at a distance stands,-- Then Frithiof, with quick hands, The corslet-hater, Angurvadel, from his thigh Unbuckleth, and his bright s.h.i.+eld's golden round Leaning 'gainst the altar, thus draws nigh;--

While his cow'd enemy He thus accosts, with pleasant dignity.-- 'Most n.o.ble in this strife will he be found Who first his right hand good Offers in pledge of peaceful brotherhood!'-- Then Halfdan, deeply blus.h.i.+ng, doffs with haste His iron-gauntlet and,--with hearty grasp embrac'd,-- Each long, long, sever'd hand Its friend-foe hails, steadfast as mountain-bases stand!

"And as th' last deep accents Of reconcilement and of blessing sounded; Lo! Ing'borg sudden enters, rich adorn'd With bridal ornaments, and all enrob'd In gorgeous ermine, and by bright-ey'd maidens Slow-follow'd, as on heav'n's broad canopy, Attending star-trains guard the regent-moon!-- But the young bride's fair eyes, Those two blue skies, Fill quick with tears, And to her brother's heart she trembling sinketh;-- He, with his sister's fears Deep-mov'd, her hand all tenderly in Frithiof's linketh, His burden soft transferring to that hero's breast, Its long-tried faith fit place for Ing'borg's rest."

Tegner, Frithiof Saga (G. Stephens's tr.).

CHAPTER XXVIII: THE TWILIGHT OF THE G.o.dS

The Decline of the G.o.ds

One of the distinctive features of Northern mythology is that the people always believed that their G.o.ds belonged to a finite race. The aesir had had a beginning; therefore, it was reasoned, they must have an end; and as they were born from a mixture of the divine and giant elements, being thus imperfect, they bore within them the germ of death, and were, like men, doomed to suffer physical death in order to attain spiritual immortality.

The whole scheme of Northern mythology was therefore a drama, every step leading gradually to the climax or tragic end, when, with true poetic justice, punishment and reward were impartially meted out. In the foregoing chapters, the gradual rise and decline of the G.o.ds have been carefully traced. We have recounted how the aesir tolerated the presence of evil, personated by Loki, in their midst; how they weakly followed his advice, allowed him to involve them in all manner of difficulties from which they could be extricated only at the price of part of their virtue or peace, and finally permitted him to gain such ascendency over them that he did not scruple to rob them of their dearest possession, purity, or innocence, as personified by Balder the good.

Too late the G.o.ds realised how evil was this spirit that had found a home among them, and too late they banished Loki to earth, where men, following the G.o.ds' example, listened to his teachings, and were corrupted by his sinister influence.

"Brothers slay brothers; Sisters' children Shed each other's blood.

Hard is the world; Sensual sin grows huge.

There are sword-ages, axe-ages; s.h.i.+elds are cleft in twain; Storm-ages, murder-ages; Till the world falls dead, And men no longer spare Or pity one another."

Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).

The Fimbul-winter

Seeing that crime was rampant, and all good banished from the earth, the G.o.ds realised that the prophecies uttered of old were about to be fulfilled, and that the shadow of Ragnarok, the twilight or dusk of the G.o.ds, was already upon them. Sol and Mani grew pale with affright, and drove their chariots tremblingly along their appointed paths, looking back with fear at the pursuing wolves which would shortly overtake and devour them; and as their smiles disappeared the earth grew sad and cold, and the terrible Fimbul-winter began. Then snow fell from the four points of the compa.s.s at once, the biting winds swept down from the north, and all the earth was covered with a thick layer of ice.

"Grim Fimbul raged, and o'er the world Tempestuous winds and snowstorms hurled; The roaring ocean icebergs ground, And flung its frozen foam around, E'en to the top of mountain height; No warming air Nor radiance fair Of gentle Summer's soft'ning light, Tempered this dreadful glacial night."

Valhalla (J. C. Jones).

This severe winter lasted during three whole seasons without a break, and was followed by three others, equally severe, during which all cheer departed from the earth, and the crimes of men increased with fearful rapidity, whilst, in the general struggle for life, the last feelings of humanity and compa.s.sion disappeared.

The Wolves Let Loose

In the dim recesses of the Ironwood the giantess Iarnsaxa or Angur-boda diligently fed the wolves Hati, Skoll, and Managarm, the progeny of Fenris, with the marrow of murderers' and adulterers' bones; and such was the prevalence of these vile crimes, that the well-nigh insatiable monsters were never stinted for food. They daily gained strength to pursue Sol and Mani, and finally overtook and devoured them, deluging the earth with blood from their dripping jaws.

"In the east she was seated, that aged woman, in Jarnrid, And there she nourished the posterity of Fenrir; He will be the most formidable of all, he Who, under the form of a monster, will swallow up the moon."

Voluspa (Pfeiffer's tr.).

At this terrible calamity the whole earth trembled and shook, the stars, affrighted, fell from their places, and Loki, Fenris, and Garm, renewing their efforts, rent their chains asunder and rushed forth to take their revenge. At the same moment the dragon Nidhug gnawed through the root of the ash Yggdrasil, which quivered to its topmost bough; the red c.o.c.k Fialar, perched above Valhalla, loudly crowed an alarm, which was immediately echoed by Gullin-kambi, the rooster in Midgard, and by Hel's dark-red bird in Nifl-heim.

"The gold-combed c.o.c.k The G.o.ds in Valhal loudly crowed to arms; The blood-red c.o.c.k as shrilly summons all On earth and down beneath it."

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

Heimdall Gives the Alarm

Heimdall, noting these ominous portents and hearing the c.o.c.k's shrill cry, immediately put the Giallar-horn to his lips and blew the long-expected blast, which was heard throughout the world. At the first sound of this rally aesir and Einheriar sprang from their golden couches and sallied bravely out of the great hall, armed for the coming fray, and, mounting their impatient steeds, they galloped over the quivering rainbow bridge to the s.p.a.cious field of Vigrid, where, as Vafthrudnir had predicted long before, the last battle was to take place.

The Terrors of the Sea

The terrible Midgard snake Iormungandr had been aroused by the general disturbance, and with immense writhings and commotion, whereby the seas were lashed into huge waves such as had never before disturbed the deeps of ocean, he crawled out upon the land, and hastened to join the dread fray, in which he was to play a prominent part.

"In giant wrath the Serpent tossed In ocean depths, till, free from chain, He rose upon the foaming main; Beneath the las.h.i.+ngs of his tail, Seas, mountain high, swelled on the land; Then, darting mad the waves acrost, Pouring forth b.l.o.o.d.y froth like hail, Spurting with poisoned, venomed breath Foul, deadly mists o'er all the Earth, Thro' thundering surge, he sought the strand."

Valhalla (J. C. Jones).