Myths of the Norsemen Part 9

In Holland she was called Vrou-elde, and from her the Milky Way is known by the Dutch as Vrou-elden-straat; while in parts of Northern Germany she was called Nerthus (Mother Earth). Her sacred car was kept on an island, presumably Rugen, where the priests guarded it carefully until she appeared to take a yearly journey throughout her realm to bless the land. The G.o.ddess, her face completely hidden by a thick veil, then sat in this car, which was drawn by two cows, and she was respectfully escorted by her priests. When she pa.s.sed, the people did homage by ceasing all warfare, and laying aside their weapons. They donned festive attire, and began no quarrel until the G.o.ddess had again retired to her sanctuary. Then both car and G.o.ddess were bathed in a secret lake (the Schwartze See, in Rugen), which swallowed up the slaves who had a.s.sisted at the bathing, and once more the priests resumed their watch over the sanctuary and grove of Nerthus or Hlodyn, to await her next appearance.

In Scandinavia, this G.o.ddess was also known as Huldra, and boasted of a train of attendant wood-nymphs, who sometimes sought the society of mortals, to enjoy a dance upon the village green. They could always be detected, however, by the tip of a cow's tail which trailed from beneath their long snow-white garments. These Huldra folk were the special protectors of the cattle on the mountain-sides, and were said to surprise the lonely traveller, at times, by the marvellous beauty of the melodies they sang to beguile the hours at their tasks.

CHAPTER IV: THOR

The Thunderer

According to some mythologists, Thor, or Donar, is the son of Jord (Erda) and of Odin, but others state that his mother was Frigga, queen of the G.o.ds. This child was very remarkable for his great size and strength, and very soon after his birth amazed the a.s.sembled G.o.ds by playfully lifting and throwing about ten great bales of bear skins. Although generally good-tempered, Thor would occasionally fly into a terrible rage, and as he was very dangerous at these times, his mother, unable to control him, sent him away from home and entrusted him to the care of Vingnir (the winged), and of Hlora (heat). These foster-parents, who are also considered as the personification of sheet-lightning, soon managed to control their troublesome charge, and brought him up so wisely, that the G.o.ds entertained a very grateful recollection of their kind offices. Thor himself, recognising all he owed them, a.s.sumed the names of Vingthor and Hlorridi, by which he is also known.

"Cry on, Vingi-Thor, With the dancing of the ring-mail and the smitten s.h.i.+elds of war."

Sigurd the Volsung (William Morris).

Having attained his full growth and the age of reason, Thor was admitted to Asgard among the other G.o.ds, where he occupied one of the twelve seats in the great judgment hall. He was also given the realm of Thrud-vang or Thrud-heim, where he built a wonderful palace called Bilskirnir (lightning), the most s.p.a.cious in all Asgard. It contained five hundred and forty halls for the accommodation of the thralls, who after death were welcomed to his home, where they received equal treatment with their masters in Valhalla, for Thor was the patron G.o.d of the peasants and lower cla.s.ses.

"Five hundred halls And forty more, Methinketh, hath Bowed Bilskirnir.

Of houses roofed There's none I know My son's surpa.s.sing."

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

As he was G.o.d of thunder, Thor alone was never allowed to pa.s.s over the wonderful bridge Bifrost, lest he should set it aflame by the heat of his presence; and when he wished to join his fellow G.o.ds by the Urdar fountain, under the shade of the sacred tree Yggdrasil, he was forced to make his way thither on foot, wading through the rivers Kormt and Ormt, and the two streams Kerlaug, to the trysting place.

Thor, who was honoured as the highest G.o.d in Norway, came second in the trilogy of all the other countries, and was called "old Thor,"

because he is supposed by some mythologists to have belonged to an older dynasty of G.o.ds, and not on account of his actual age, for he was represented and described as a man in his prime, tall and well formed, with muscular limbs and bristling red hair and beard, from which, in moments of anger, the sparks flew in showers.

"First, Thor with the bent brow, In red beard muttering low, Darting fierce lightnings from eyeb.a.l.l.s that glow, Comes, while each chariot wheel Echoes in thunder peal, As his dread hammer shock Makes Earth and Heaven rock, Clouds rifting above, while Earth quakes below."

Valhalla (J. C. Jones).

The Northern races further adorned him with a crown, on each point of which was either a glittering star, or a steadily burning flame, so that his head was ever surrounded by a kind of halo of fire, his own element.

Thor's Hammer

Thor was the proud possessor of a magic hammer called Miolnir (the crusher) which he hurled at his enemies, the frost-giants, with destructive power, and which possessed the wonderful property of always returning to his hand, however far away he might hurl it.

"I am the Thunderer!

Here in my Northland, My fastness and fortress, Reign I forever!

"Here amid icebergs Rule I the nations; This is my hammer, Miolnir the mighty; Giants and sorcerers Cannot withstand it!"

Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow).

As this huge hammer, the emblem of the thunderbolts, was generally red-hot, the G.o.d had an iron gauntlet called Iarn-greiper, which enabled him to grasp it firmly. He could hurl Miolnir a great distance, and his strength, which was always remarkable, was doubled when he wore his magic belt called Megin-giord.

"This is my girdle: Whenever I brace it, Strength is redoubled!"

Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow).

Thor's hammer was considered so very sacred by the ancient Northern people, that they were wont to make the sign of the hammer, as the Christians later taught them to make the sign of the cross, to ward off all evil influences, and to secure blessings. The same sign was also made over the newly born infant when water was poured over its head and a name given. The hammer was used to drive in boundary stakes, which it was considered sacrilegious to remove, to hallow the threshold of a new house, to solemnise a marriage, and, lastly, it played a part in the consecration of the funeral pyre upon which the bodies of heroes, together with their weapons and steeds, and, in some cases, with their wives and dependents, were burned.

In Sweden, Thor, like Odin, was supposed to wear a broad-brimmed hat, and hence the storm-clouds in that country are known as Thor's hat, a name also given to one of the princ.i.p.al mountains in Norway. The rumble and roar of the thunder were said to be the roll of his chariot, for he alone among the G.o.ds never rode on horseback, but walked, or drove in a brazen chariot drawn by two goats, Tanngniostr (tooth-cracker), and Tanngrisnr (tooth-gnasher), from whose teeth and hoofs the sparks constantly flew.

"Thou camest near the next, O warrior Thor!

Shouldering thy hammer, in thy chariot drawn, Swaying the long-hair'd goats with silver'd rein."

Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).

When the G.o.d thus drove from place to place, he was called Aku-thor, or Thor the charioteer, and in Southern Germany the people, fancying a brazen chariot alone inadequate to furnish all the noise they heard, declared it was loaded with copper kettles, which rattled and clashed, and therefore often called him, with disrespectful familiarity, the kettle-vendor.

Thor's Family

Thor was twice married; first to the giantess Iarnsaxa (iron stone), who bore him two sons, Magni (strength) and Modi (courage), both destined to survive their father and the twilight of the G.o.ds, and rule over the new world which was to rise like a phoenix from the ashes of the first. His second wife was Sif, the golden-haired, who also bore him two children, Lorride, and a daughter named Thrud, a young giantess renowned for her size and strength. True to the well-known affinity of contrast, Thrud was wooed by the dwarf Alvis, whom she rather favoured; and one evening, when this suitor, who, being a dwarf, could not face the light of day, presented himself in Asgard to sue for her hand, the a.s.sembled G.o.ds did not refuse their consent. They had scarcely signified their approbation, however, when Thor, who had been absent, suddenly appeared, and casting a glance of contempt upon the puny lover, declared he would have to prove that his knowledge atoned for his small stature, before he could win his bride.

To test Alvis's mental powers, Thor then questioned him in the language of the G.o.ds, Vanas, elves, and dwarfs, artfully prolonging his examination until sunrise, when the first beam of light, falling upon the unhappy dwarf, petrified him. There he stood, an enduring example of the G.o.ds' power, to serve as a warning to all other dwarfs who might dare to test it.

"Ne'er in human bosom Have I found so many Words of the old time.

Thee with subtlest cunning Have I yet befooled.

Above ground standeth thou, dwarf By day art overtaken, Bright suns.h.i.+ne fills the hall."

Saemund's Edda (Howitt's version).

Sif, the Golden-haired

Sif, Thor's wife, was very vain of a magnificent head of long golden hair which covered her from head to foot like a brilliant veil; and as she too was a symbol of the earth, her hair was said to represent the long gra.s.s, or the golden grain covering the Northern harvest fields. Thor was very proud of his wife's beautiful hair; imagine his dismay, therefore, upon waking one morning, to find her shorn, and as bald and denuded of ornament as the earth when the grain has been garnered, and nothing but the stubble remains! In his anger, Thor sprang to his feet, vowing he would punish the perpetrator of this outrage, whom he immediately and rightly conjectured to be Loki, the arch-plotter, ever on the look-out for some evil deed to perform. Seizing his hammer, Thor went in search of Loki, who attempted to evade the irate G.o.d by changing his form. But it was all to no purpose; Thor soon overtook him, and without more ado caught him by the throat, and almost strangled him ere he yielded to his imploring signs and relaxed his powerful grip. When he could draw his breath, Loki begged forgiveness, but all his entreaties were vain, until he promised to procure for Sif a new head of hair, as beautiful as the first, and as luxuriant in growth.