The Book of Viking Myths

by Peter Archer

  I know that I hung

  On the windswept tree

  For nine whole nights

  Pierced by the spear

  And given to Odin

  Myself to myself.

  On that tree

  Whose roots

  No one knows

  They gave me no bread

  Nor drink from the horn

  I peered into the depths

  I grasped the runes

  Screaming I grasped them

  And then fell back.

  Since this is the only allusion we have to the incident, it is hard to know exactly what to make of it. The implication seems to be that Odin hung above Hel, where the secret of the runes was kept, until at last he understood it. Yet at the same time, there is the implication of a sacrifice to himself. He suffers, much as a prisoner of war might; according to the chronicler Adam of Bremen, prisoners of war were sacrificed by the Vikings as late as the eleventh century. Note that the sacrifices to Odin were generally performed by hanging the victim.

  Heroic Sacrifice

  The notion of the hero hanging from a tree to gain knowledge or to sacrifice himself is common to northern mythology and extends into the Christian era. In the Anglo-Saxon poem “The Dream of the Rood,” the story of the crucifixion is told from the point of view of the cross, which in the poem can be seen as parallel to Yggdrasil. The cross sees Jesus coming toward it:

  I saw then the Savior of mankind

  hasten with great zeal as if he wanted to climb up on me . . .

  He stripped himself then, young hero—that was God almighty—

  strong and resolute; he ascended on the high gallows,

  brave in the sight of many, when he wanted to ransom mankind

  A far different image than the usual view of the crucifixion, but one more fitted to a warrior society.

  The word “rune” comes from the Danish run, meaning “mystery.” So the runes were involved in mysterious—that is to say, magical—knowledge. Historian Tony Allan in his book on the Vikings argues, “It seems likely that runes played an essential part in the ritual sacrifices of the Viking era—since they had to be reddened with blood to be effective—and they were also used to cast lots for divination.”

  Runes might be carved in objects to give them special meaning; a whalebone with a runic inscription might be used to invoke the favor of the gods during childbirth or before a battle. In Egil’s Saga, the hero finds a young girl who has fallen ill. In her bed, Egil finds a bone with runes carved on it. Then he says:

  No man should carve runes

  unless he can read them well;

  many a man goes astray

  around those dark letters.

  On the whalebone I saw

  ten secret letters carved,

  from them the linden tree

  took her long harm.

  Egil cuts some new runes and places them beneath the girl, who promptly feels much better.

  Odin and Billing’s Daughter

  Odin was married to Frigg, but as with so many gods in so many cultures, that marriage rested on a shaky foundation. Odin had an eye for a pretty woman. As he learned to his cost once, though, it is unwise to trust such a woman.

  In his survey of the nine worlds, Odin beheld Billing’s daughter sleeping in Midgard. She was, he later said, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and he thought that the world would become a desert and perish if he could not sleep with her. But when he came to her, she was cautious.

  “Not until after dark,” she said to the Allfather. “No one must discover we are lovers.”

  In his lust, Odin agreed to wait, hard though it was. The minutes crept by like hours and the hours seemed like days. But when he came to her chamber at midnight, something was wrong. The warriors in the place were all awake, and the hall was lit by torches.

  The father of the gods retreated. At dawn he returned, and now the warriors were asleep on their mead benches. But of the maiden, there was no sign. And to her bed, as a gesture of contempt for Odin, she had chained a bitch.

  And so, as Odin was wont to say afterward, no woman is to be trusted until she has been put to the test.

  Loki

  Depending on one's reading of the source material, Loki was not a god but a mortal who, nonetheless, spent most of his time with the gods. Snorri says (more precisely, High tells Gangleri) that Loki has many names. Among them are Slanderer of the Gods, Source of Deceit, and Disgrace of All Gods and Men. According to the Prose Edda he is the son of the frost giant Farbauti and his mother is Nal or Laufry. With Angrboda (Sorrow Bringer) he had three children: Fenriswolf, Jörmungandr, and Hel.

  Fenriswolf

  The first of these children was Fenriswolf, sometimes called Fenris (or Fenrir) and Hrodvitnir. When Odin learned of the birth of these children of Loki and Angrboda, he knew of the great sorrow they might bring to Midgard. And he knew of his own danger, for it had been prophesied that at Ragnarök, the ending of the world, Fenriswolf should be the death of Odin. So he sent the Æsir to gather the children together and bring them to Odin so the Allfather might bind them.

  The Æsir struggled to take Fenriswolf. Ever they approached him, and ever he snapped at them with his great jaws. The Æsir made a great chain and called it Læding. It was strong enough, they felt, to bind the wolf.

  The beast allowed them to wind it about his limbs. Then he inhaled and strained, and with little effort on his part the chain links burst asunder, and Læding lay in ruins.

  The Æsir made another chain, stronger than Læding; it was called Dromi. They showed it to Fenriswolf. He thought it strong, and again he allowed the Æsir to wind it about him. Then he shook and strained and pulled, and Dromi broke, just as Læding had done.

  Now the gods sent to Svartalfheim, the realm of the Dark Elves. And the Dark Elves agreed, for a payment of gold, to make a new chain that could not be broken by any power in the nine worlds.

  The Æsir approached Fenriswolf for a third time and showed him the new chain, named Gleipnir. Its links shone in the light, and it seemed to have no more than the thickness of a silk ribbon. But this time the wolf refused them permission to wind it about his legs. “It may be stronger than it looked,” he growled knowingly.

  “If you can break this chain,” said one of the Æsir, “we will cease our attempts to bind you, and you will be free to go where you wish.”

  The Wolf of Narnia

  C.S. Lewis was a friend of J.R.R. Tolkien. Like Tolkien he was an enthusiast of Norse mythology. While his friend was writing The Hobbit and other tales of Middle-earth, Lewis wrote a series of young adult novels set in the magical land of Narnia. In one of these, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, a terrible white witch rules the land, which is in a state of perpetual winter—“always winter and never Christmas” as one of the characters says sadly. The witch’s chief assistant is a wolf named Fenris Ulf, who serves as the chief of her secret police. The wolf is killed toward the end of the novel by the heroic boy Peter, who later becomes High King of Narnia.

  Fenriswolf could not resist this offer. He allowed the ribbon of iron to be woven about him. “But,” he said suddenly, “as a token of your good faith, one of you must place his hand in my mouth. The Æsir looked at one another. Then Tyr spoke up.

  “I will do it,” he said, and he placed his hand in the wolf’s mouth.

  Now Fenriswolf swelled and drew breath into his lungs. He strained against the chain. Sweat appeared on his brow, and he strained again. Gleipnir trembled and creaked, but it did not break. A third time the wolf strained. A snarl came from the back of his throat. His jaws clamped down. Tyr gave a cry of anguish and pulled back his arm, but it was too late. The wolf had bitten off his hand.

  Now the Æsir took another chain called Gelgja and fastened one end to Gleipnir. The other end they bound to a great rock called Gjoll. They put that rock a mile below the surface of the earth and placed another vast rock on top of it. Fenriswolf snarled and slavered.


  Now one of the Æsir drew a sword and drove it through the wolf’s jaw from below into the roof of his mouth. The wolf shrieked with agony, for now it was gagged and bound. Saliva ran from his mouth in such amounts that it formed a river called Von, or the River of Spit.

  And there Fenriswolf waits for Ragnarök and the end of time.

  Jörmungandr

  The second of Loki’s terrible children was Jörmungandr, the great serpent. Odin saw its growing size and terror and he caused it to be placed around Midgard at the bottom of the sea that surrounds Middle-earth. The serpent grew so vast that it itself surrounded Midgard and put its tail into its own mouth.

  Once Thor, strongest of the gods, succeeded in lifting it (see Chapter 8), although it was disguised as a cat so he did not know what feat he had performed. And once Thor, on a fishing trip (see Chapter 9) caught the serpent and lifted its head where he could see it. However, as he prepared to kill it with his hammer, his companion cut the fishing line and freed the serpent. Like Fenriswolf, Jörmungandr will remain in his place until the end of the world.

  Hel

  The third child of Loki was Hel. She was assigned by Odin dominion over Niflheim and the realm of the dead (there is a significant distinction in that warriors who die in battle go to Valhalla, whereas men, women, and children who die of other causes go to Hel).

  In art, Hel is almost always depicted as an old woman, haggard and dressed in tattered robes. The gates to her realm are guarded by her hound Garm. Her hall is called Eljudnir, and it is to there that the god Hermódr travels to beg for the return of the god Baldr, slain through the treachery of Loki (see Chapter 10). She has a dish called Hunger, a knife called Famine, a slave named Lazy, and her servant is called Slothful. (All of this is according to the Prose Edda; there is no other description of Eljudnir and its inhabitants in any other source.)

  The Hag

  The image of a hag is extremely common in mythology. The Celts had the Morrígan, a figure foretelling death in battle. As well as Hel, Scandinavian folklore spoke of the mara, the figure of a withered old woman who perched on the chests of sleepers and gave them nightmares.

  The Trickster

  Loki himself plays a major role in Viking mythology, and it is usually not a very good one. He exists, it seems, to twit the other gods and to play practical jokes on them, but in some cases, such as the death of Baldr, these jokes go very wrong. He is wed to Sigyn, who in the end must aid him when he is bound by the gods for his treachery (see Chapter 10).

  In the Lokasenna, part of the Poetic Edda, Loki is on full display. Much of the poem consists of a long string of taunts aimed at the gods (insults seem to have been an important part of Viking culture).

  Ægir, god of the sea, also called Gymir, has prepared a feast for the gods after having obtained the cauldron from the giant Hymir (see Chapter 9). Among those who come to the feast is Loki, who speaks to Ægir’s serving man Eldir and asks him who is within the hall. When Eldir tells him, Loki replies:

  In shall I go

  into Ægir’s hall,

  For the feat I fain would see;

  Bale and hatred

  I bring to the gods,

  And their mead with venom I mix.

  Once within the hall, he proceeded to spew forth insults. It is worthwhile to quote his exchange with Bragi, which is typical of his conversation:

  Hail to you, gods!

  ye goddesses, hail!

  Hail to the holy throng!

  Save for the god

  who yonder sits,

  Bragi there on the bench.

  To which Bragi replied:

  A horse and a sword

  from my hoard will I give,

  And a ring gives Bragi to boot,

  That hatred thou makest not

  among the gods;

  So rouse not the great ones to wrath.

  Sneering, Loki replies:

  In horses and rings

  thou shalt never be rich,

  Bragi, but both shalt thou lack;

  Of the gods and elves

  here together met

  Least brave in battle art thou,

  (And shyest thou art of the shot.)

  Bragi answers:

  Now were I without

  as I am within,

  And here is Ægir’s hall,

  Thine head would I bear

  in mine hands away,

  And pay thee the price of thy lies.

  Finally, Loki replies:

  In thy seat art thou bold,

  not so are thy deeds,

  Bragi, adorner of benches!

  Go out and fight

  if angered thou feelest,

  No hero such forethought has.

  The exchange is interesting, not only for what it tells about Loki’s sense of humor and his habit of spreading discord among the Æsir but also because it is the sort of rough banter and quarreling that was likely all too common among the Vikings and other inhabitants of Scandinavia. In a male-dominated society where feasting was accompanied by testosterone-fueled arguments, it is surprising that more arguments did not end in bloodshed.

  Other Gods

  Snorri mentions a number of other gods, though none as important as the three major deities: Odin, Thor, and Loki. Those he lists include:

  Baldr

  Baldr, as we shall see later, is a tragic figure in Viking mythology (see Chapter 10). Snorri mentions him early in the Prose Edda as the second of Odin’s sons. He is beautiful, so much so that a light shines forth from him. He is also the wisest of the gods, the most well spoken, and the most merciful. However, a consequence of the latter quality is that he is prone to indecisiveness. His hall is in a place called Breidablik.

  Njord

  Njord has already been mentioned as among the Vanir. He is the ruler of the seas, and his home is at Noatun, which means Enclosure for Ships. Sailors and fishermen offer sacrifices to him, so he was a particularly important god as far as the Vikings were concerned.

  Freyr

  Freyr is a member of the Vanir. Along with his sister Freyja and his father Njord, he was sent to Asgard as a hostage in the wake of the war between the Æsir and the Vanir (see Chapter 7). He is a fertility god and is also associated with sacral kingship (the notion that the king has both religious and temporal functions and significance), virility, and prosperity. This makes him one of the most important of the northern gods.

  He weds the giantess Gerdr (a fact that further illustrates the complex relations between the giants and the gods), but in doing so he must give up his sword. He is, however, possessed of other magic treasures: the ship Skidbladnir, which can hold all the gods when at sea but can be folded up to no larger than a piece of parchment when on land; and the boar Gullinbursti, which is made of gold and will run about the land, uncaught by any man or god, and shines with a brilliant light from its bristles.

  Because Freyr lacks his sword, he is destined to be killed by the giant Surtr during the events of Ragnarök.

  Tyr

  Tyr was referred to previously in the story of the binding of Fenriswolf. Because of the loss of his hand, he is often warlike in his disposition, but he is also courageous and very wise.

  Bragi

  Bragi is particularly well spoken and eloquent in the art of poetry. One can perhaps see why Loki should have impugned Bragi’s courage, since he is not among the warlike of the Æsir. He is married to Idunn, who keeps the magical apples that forever preserve the youth of the gods (see Chapter 10 for the tale of Loki’s theft of the apples of Idunn).

  Heimdall

  Heimdall is sometimes called the Gold Toothed, since his teeth are made of gold. He was born of nine maidens; Snorri calls him “powerful and sacred.” He lives near Bifrost, the rainbow bridge from Midgard to Asgard, and with his telescope he keeps track of the mountain giants to ward off any attempt they may make to cross the bridge. He sees things up to 100 leagues off and hears the grass growing and sheep’s wool rustling. If there is an assault on A
sgard, he will blow his horn, Gjallarhorn, to rouse the Æsir.

  More Viking Deities

  Here are the names of some of the other Viking gods:

  Ægir. The king of the sea, akin to Classical mythology’s Triton. In the Skáldskaparmál, Snorri identifies him with the sea giant Hiér.

  Hödr. He is blind but very strong, and memory of his works will long endure among men and gods.

  Vídarr. He is the silent god. He has a shoe of immense thickness that he will use at Ragnarök to kill Fenriswolf. Only Thor exceeds him in strength.

  Vali. Also known as Ali, he is the son of Odin and Rind. He is skilled in battle and has a keen eye.

  Ull. He is the son of Sif and thus the stepson of Thor. He is skilled with the bow and with skis and is a fine warrior. Snorri says he is the best god to pray to in the event that the suppliant is involved in single combat.

  Forseti. He is the son of Baldr and Nanna and is skilled before all the gods at rendered justice. In his hall called Glitnir, he hears legal cases and adjudicates them fairly.

  Goddesses

  Viking society, and Scandinavian society generally, was male-centric; thus goddesses do not play nearly as prominent a role in the mythology of the north as they do in, say, Celtic or Classical myth. Nonetheless, there are several important ones.