GODS AND MYTHS OF NORTHERN EUROPE, H.R. Ellis Davidson, Penguin,
Harmondsworth, 1974 (1964)

This superb primer of the Northern myths opens with an introduction
(pp. 9-22), with a glimpse of the courageous, accomplished,
individualistic peoples who so impacted Western Europe at the time
of the fall of Rome and during the centuries of the Vikings. Since
Scandinavians held longest to the Old Religion, they transmit more
of it. Such transmission, of course, comes through the pens of
Christians. Cognizant of this, and of the foreigness of such pagan
authors as Tacitus, we approach the material open-minded, aware also
of the great diversity natural to human understandings, especially
within a population so extensive geographically and chronologically.

Increasing archaeological knowledge and advances in understanding
human psychology and symbolism increase our comprehension of the
myths.

Chapter One, "The World of the Northern Gods" (pp. 23-47), begins
with Snorri Sturluson and the Prose Edda. Snorri connects the
Northern myths to the Classical world, has three mysterious persons
relate mythic tales to a Swedish king (There's Yggdrasil, the World
Tree; the three Norns and the Well of Fate; Valhalla, Odin's
residence, where slain heroes fight by day and feast by night; Tyr
sacrificing his hand for the binding of the Fenris wolf; Thor
fishing for the Midgard serpent; the building of the wall around
Asgard and the birth of eight-legged Sleipnir; the mistletoe slaying
invincible Balder; the cataclysmic and heroic fall of the gods at
the end of the age, etc.) and adds details to the striving of the
giants to get the better of the gods (stealing the apples of youth,
taking the mead of inspiration, clashing with Thor). There are other
myths, such as Thor, disguised as Freyja, going to regain his hammer
from the giants.

The substantial chapters of the book examine the deities in greater
detail, starting with Chapter Two, "The Gods of Battle" (pp. 48-72).
First is Odin, patron of chiefs and warriors, to whom is offerred
the first captured in battle, whose sacrifices are slain by spear,
hung and burnt, who is invoked by hurling a spear over foemen and
shouting Odin has them. Earlier generations of Germanic peoples
worshipped Wodan and Tiwaz, sacrificing much for victory in battle.
Of Tiwaz:

   In Old Norse his name was used as a synonym for 'god', and Odin
   bore among his titles that of Sigtyr, the Tyr, or god, of
   victory. The name Tiwaz is related to the Greek Zeus, and to the
   Roman Jupiter (who was originally Dyaus pitar, father Dyaus). All
   three are thought to be derived from dieus, the Indo-Germanic 
   word for god, which stands also for the shining heaven and the
   light of day. It is probable that Tiwaz was the supreme sky god
   of Germans as well as their god of battle. p. 57

Tiwaz was also the god of fairness and justice, distinct from the
fickle, treacherous Odin.

The Valkyries, "choosers of the slain" (waelcyrge in Anglo-Saxon),
likely priestesses presiding over sacrifices, including the huge,
grim "Angel of Death" seen by Ibn Fadlan on the Volga, inspiring
omens and bloody images of coming war, of slaying in battle, of
leading the battle-slain to Odin's Valhalla, are compared to Celtic
war-goddesses, Morrigu and Bodb, and evidenced in surviving charms.
Valkyries could bind, paralyze, warriors in battle.

And Odin could grant battle fury to the beserkers. There were
societies of warriors, dedicated to the god of battle, garbed in
fierce animal skin, battling in unrestrained frenzy. Odin was also a
god of inspiration, poetry and magic.

Chapter Three, "The Thunder God" (pp. 73-91), looks at Thor:

   Of all the gods, it is Thor who seems the characteristic hero of
   the stormy world of the Vikings. Bearded, outspoken, indomitable,
   filled with vigour and gusto, he put his reliance on his strong
   right arm and simple weapons. He strides through the northern
   realm of the gods, a fitting symbol for the man of action. p. 73

Thor, patron of the ordinary guy, was the most impressive god at the
close of the pagan era. Mentioned are: his temples, statues,
oath-rings, chariot, high-seat pillars, connection with wood, fire
and ceremonial nail. Mjollnir, his hammer, is called Asgard's
greatest treasure. The hammer hallowed birth, marriage and death,
and may have done so for a very long time. The hammer was worn as an
amulet. The sign of the hammer was made for protection. Thor, god of
thunder, was called on to ensure fair weather at sea.

Chapter Four, "The Gods of Peace and Plenty" (pp. 92-127), notes the
apparent transition from the fertility goddess conveyed in a wagon,
as mentioned by Tacitus, to the fertility god so conveyed, as told
in tales from the end of the pagan period, including one in which
the wagon got stuck in a snow drift and a handsome young man
impersonated Freyr. There may have been fertility sacrifices, actual
or symbolic, of early kings, and also a horse cult connected with
Freyr. Freyr and Freyja both are associated with the boar, a
widespread protective symbol.

Worship of Freyr may have been carried from Sweden to Norway. Some
followers of Freyr are mentioned in the Icelandic sagas: Hrafnkell,
Thord Freysgodi, Thorgrim, Ingimund, Viga-Glums and his family.

Other gods there are that blend into Freyr, are him by other names
or are lingering remnants underlining gaps in our knowledge: Frodi,
Ing, Scyld, Sceaf, and Ull the Hunter. The father of Freyr and of
Freyja, is Njord, Tacitus' Nerthus in Old Norse.

   Many attempts have been made to find an explanation of the
   relationship between these two deities. Possibly there was
   originally a male and female pair of deities, Njord and Nerthus,
   and Freyr took the place of the earlier god. There are traces of
   other divine pairs: Ullr/Ullin, Fjorgyn/Fjorgynn, of whom we know
   little beyond the names. p. 106

These shadowy fertility gods also seem concerned with the sea, with
begetting royal lines, with death and hence suggestions of the dying
god, the most prominent of whom is Balder. Surviving material,
however, does not present a Germanic god returning from the dead, in
the manner of the Near Eastern dying gods, or of the Finnish
Lemminkainen.

While Tacitus refers to Nerthus as Earth Mother, corroboration for
the worship of the Earth Mother is unclear. Paul the Deacon credit's
Wodan's wife, Frija, for the victory of the Winniles (Longbeards,
Lombards) over the Vandals. Mentioned are: Frigg's role in
childbirth, seeresses, foretelling a child's destiny, the matres in
Britain, Holland and Germany in early times, an Old English
invocation of the Earth Mother and Frigg's relative obscurity.

More clearly remembered is Freyja. She is the goddess of love,
receiving half the battle-slain, possessing the precious necklace
Brisingamen, knower of magic, patroness of seeresses, shape shifter
into bird form. Considered are: shamanism, horse cult, fertility
cults and triple goddesses elsewhere. Freyja means "Lady" as Freyr
means "Lord" and Frodi "Fruitful One." There is a look at the
importance of the fertility deities, the Vanir.

Chapter Five, "The Gods of the Sea" (pp. 128-139), begins with the
god Aegir and his bride, Ran. Aegir's nine daughters are thought to
be waves. Celtic correspondences are mentioned. The obvious
connection to the Vanir (fertility) deities is noted. People living
by the sea and depending on the double harvest of crops from the
ground and fish from the sea would naturally make the association.
There is also the widespread symbolism of inspiration, cleansing and
renewal.

Chapter Six, "The Gods of the Dead" (pp. 140-162), begins with Odin
and his identification with Mercury.

   Mercury was the god of trade, the patron of wisdom and learning,
   the god who was carried by his winged sandals over land and sea,
   and the guide who directed souls to the Other World. This gives
   us a starting point to the study of Wodan as the god of the dead.
   p. 141

Observed is: Odin, god of cargoes, finder of runes, on his
eight-legged steed, commanding Valkyries to guide the slain to his
hall, hanging for nine days on the World Tree, voluntary sacrifice,
shape shifter, host of continually fighting heroes, inspirer, mead
bringer, blurred together with Vanir. Offerred is: burial mound,
suttee, ancestor worship, reincarnation, influence, good and ill,
from the dead, cremation, the fiery dragon, the dragon guarding the
treasure in the mound.

Chapter Seven, "The Enigmatic Gods" ("pp. 163-189), begins with
Bragi, perhaps initially Odin's aspect of poetic inspiration
separated into distinct identity. There is debate over a foreign
(possibly Celtic) origin for the connection of apples and nuts with
youthful immortality as told in tales of Idun, wife of Bragi. There
is Mimir, tender of the World Tree's spring, wise and inspiring god,
whose head advises Odin. There is Kvasir (Beer), another inspirer.
There is silent Hoenir. There are the Alcis Twins. There is Balder's
son, arbitrating Forseti.

Heimdall there is and ample speculation:

   Scholars have been most industrious in their efforts to fit
   Heimdall neatly into the religious scheme of the north. He has
   been interpreted as a sun god, a moon god, a ram god, and a
   woodpecker god. He has been seen as the spirit of ritual silence,
   as a personification of the World Tree or of the rainbow. He has
   been compared with the Indian fire god Agni, with the Persian
   Mithras, with the Christian St. Michael, even with Christ
   himself. p. 172

Heimdall is the ever-wakeful, ever-vigilant, ever-alert guardian of
the Rainbow Bridge, entrance to Asgard. Heimdall is seen in Rigspula
whose wandering hero is thought to have an Irish name and to
correspond to Manannan mac Lyr. Lost is the poem Heimdallargaldr and
unclear the god's connection with the Vanir, his identification with
the sea and as begetter of men.

Loki Trikster there is, a companionable fellow, shape changer,
turning himself into mare, bird, fly, flea, salmon and maybe seal,
bound he is, and master thief he is, a characteristic thought to go
back to early Indo-European mythology. Noted are the connection of
Loki to the giants, his similarity to the Native American Trickster
and the paucity of evidence to justify linking him with Logi (fire).

Balder there is, the dying god, slain by mistletoe, or dying of
wounds in fighting Hoder for the woman Nanna. There are the two main
accounts (Snorri's and Saxo's) agreeing much, inspite of an
impression of great contradiction.

   It is worth noticing how far this agreement goes: Balder has a
   prophetic dream or dreams foretelling his death; Balder is warmly
   supported by Odin and the gods; supernatural powers both help and
   oppose him; he is slain by Hoder; the slaying is done by a
   special weapon, because in general Balder is invulnerable to
   weapons; Odin receives a terrible set-back from Balder's death;
   another of Odin's sons, born after Balder dies, is destined to
   avenge him; a journey to the land of the dead forms part of the
   tale. This last point is one of the most interesting features of
   the Balder story, since it implies that the struggle for Balder's
   survival took place partly on earth and partly in the Other
   World. p. 186

It is possible to see Balder as a slain human being, rather than as
a dying god.

Chapter Eight, "The Beginning and the End" (pp. 190-210), begins
with the World Tree. Mentioned is: the evergreen (possibly yew) tree
at Upsalla, the widespread concept of the guardian tree near or
surrounded by a Germanic home, the image of the tree as ladder for
accessing worlds in mythology and in shamanism, the serpent, eagle
and squirrell, the Tree as nourisher, the sacred well and Urd the
Norn, and parallels elsewhere even in southern Borneo and Christ's
Cross.

There is existence replacing emptiness, Ymir emerging from ice, or
nourished by the primeval cow, Audhumla, who emerged from ice, and
Ymir forming the earth. There is spectacular ending: Fimbul winter,
rampaging monsters and the final battle of Ragnarok, where
splendidly fall the gods. Easy it may be to see influences from
Christianity and other foreign sources, though the harsh northern
climate, along with Icelandic extremes of glacier and volcano, may
suffice without such imports.

The Conclusion, "The Passing of the Old Gods" (pp. 211-223),
reiterates characteristics of four major deities: Odin (inspirer),
Thor (preserver), Freyr and Freyja (bestowers), states what survives
surpasses simple scholarship, poetry and entertainment, outlines the
myths as ancient, archetypical, comprehensive, light and dark,
multi-layered and diverse. They convey: courage, individualism,
wisdom and moderation. The victory of Christianity is attributed
among other things to Christian organization and pagan tolerance.

Some thirteen pages there are (pp. 227-240) of "Names and Sources."
These are primary. Moderns such as Eliade, Brondsted and de Vries
must be sought in notes at the bottom of pages in the text.

This impressive introduction to Northern mythology is highly
recommended.

Michael McKenny January 19-27, 2003 C.E.


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