CHAPTER I.

THE CREATION.

SECTION I. THE ORIGINAL CONDITION OF THE WORLD.

The condition of things before the creation of the world is expressed negatively. There was nothing of that which sprang into existence. This transition from empty space into being demands the attention of the whole human race. Therefore the vala, or wandering prophetess, begins her mysterious song, the grand and ancient Völuspá, the first lay in the Elder Edda, as follows:

Give ear All ye divine races, Great and small, Sons of Heimdal! I am about to relate The wonderful works of Valfather, The oldest sayings of men, The first I remember.

It was Time’s morning When Ymer lived: There was no sand, no sea, No cooling billows; Earth there was none, No lofty heaven, Only Ginungagap, But no grass.

The beginning was this: Many ages, ere the earth was made, there existed two worlds. Far to the north was Niflheim (the nebulous world), and far to the south was Muspelheim (the fire world). Between them was Ginungagap (the yawning gap). In the middle of Niflheim lay the spring called Hvergelmer, and from it flowed twelve ice-cold streams, the rivers Elivagar, of which Gjol was situated nearest Hel-gate. Muspelheim was so bright and hot that it burned and blazed and could not be trodden by those who did not have their home and heritage there. In the midst of this intense light and burning heat sat Surt, guarding its borders with a flaming sword in his hand.

SECTION II. THE ORIGIN OF THE GIANTS (RHIMTHURSAR).

The first beings came into existence in the following manner: When those rivers that are called Elivagar, and which flowed from the spring Hvergelmer, had flowed far from their spring-head the venom which flowed with them hardened, as does dross that runs from a furnace, and became ice. And when the ice stood still, and ran not, the vapor arising from the venom gathered over it and froze to rime, and in this manner were formed in the yawning gap many layers of congealed vapor piled one over the other. That part of Ginungagap that lay toward the north was thus filled with thick and heavy ice and rime, and everywhere within were fogs and gusts; but the south side of Ginungagap was lightened by the sparks and flakes that flew out of Muspelheim. Thus while freezing cold and gathering gloom proceeded from Niflheim, that part of Ginungagap which looked toward Muspelheim was hot and bright; but Ginungagap was as light as windless air; and when the heated blast met the frozen vapor it melted into drops, _and by the might of him who sent the heat_,[29] these drops quickened into life and were shaped into the likeness of a man. His name was Ymer, but the frost-giants called him Aurgelmer. Ymer was not a god; he was bad (evil, _illr_), as were all his kind. When he slept, he fell into a sweat, and from the pit of his left arm waxed a man and a woman, and one of his feet begat with the other a son, from whom descend the frost-giants, and therefore Ymer is called the old frost-giant (Rhimthurs). Thus the Elder Edda, in the lay of Vafthrudner:

Countless winters Ere earth was formed, Was born Bergelmer; Thrudgelmer Was his sire, His grandsire Aurgelmer.

From Elivagar Sprang venom drops, Which grew till they became a giant; But sparks flew From the south-world: To the ice the fire gave way.

Under the armpit grew, ’Tis said, of Rhimthurs, A girl and boy together; Foot with foot begat, Of that wise giant, A six-headed son.

SECTION III. THE ORIGIN OF THE COW AUDHUMBLA AND THE BIRTH OF THE GODS.

On what did the giant Ymer live, is a pertinent question. Here is the answer: The next thing, when the rime had been resolved into drops, was that the cow, which is called Audhumbla, was made of it. Four milk-rivers ran out of her teats, and thus she fed Ymer. On what did the cow feed? She licked rime-stones, which were salt; and the first day that she licked the stones there came at evening out of the stones a man’s hair, the second day a man’s head, and the third day all the man was there. His name was Bure. He was fair of face, great and mighty. He begat a son by name Bor. Bor took for his wife a woman whose name was Bestla, a daughter of the giant Bolthorn, and they had three sons, Odin, Vile and Ve, the rulers of heaven and earth; and Odin, adds the Younger Edda, is the greatest and lordliest of all the gods.

The frost-giants were, then, the first race or the first dynasty of gods. The Elder Edda makes this dynasty embrace three beings, for Aurgelmer in the passage quoted is the same as Ymer.

Odin descended from the frost-giants, which is also proved by a passage in the Younger Edda, where Ganglere asks where Odin kept himself ere heaven and earth were yet made. Then he was, answered Haar, with the frost-giants (Rhimthursar).

SECTION IV. THE NORSE DELUGE AND THE ORIGIN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.

Bor’s sons, Odin, Vile and Ve, slew the giant Ymer, but when he fell there ran so much blood out of his wounds, that with that they drowned all the race of the frost-giants, save one, who got away with his household; him the giants call Bergelmer. He went on board his boat, and with him went his wife, and from them came a new race of frost-giants. Thus the Elder Edda:

Winters past counting, Ere earth was yet made, Was born Bergelmer: Full well I remember How this crafty giant Was stowed safe in his skiff.

Odin, Vile and Ve dragged the body of Ymer into the middle of Ginungagap, and of it they formed the earth. From Ymer’s blood they made the seas and waters; from his flesh the land; from his bones the mountains; from his hair the forests, and from his teeth and jaws, together with some bits of broken bones, they made the stones and pebbles. From the blood that ran from his wounds they made the vast ocean, in the midst of which they fixed the earth, the ocean encircling it as a ring; and hardy, says the Younger Edda, will he be who attempts to cross those waters. Then they took his skull and formed thereof the vaulted heavens, which they placed over the earth, and set a dwarf at the corner of each of the four quarters. These dwarfs are called East, West, North, and South. The wandering sparks and red-hot flakes that had been cast out from Muspelheim they placed in the heavens, both above and below Ginungagap, to give light unto the world. The earth was round without and encircled by the deep ocean, the outward shores of which were assigned as a dwelling for the race of giants. But within, round about the earth, the sons of Bor raised a bulwark against turbulent giants, employing for this structure Ymer’s eye-brows. To this bulwark they gave the name Midgard.[30] They afterwards threw and scattered the brains of Ymer in the air, and made of them the melancholy clouds. Thus the Elder Edda, in the lay of Vafthrudner:

From Ymer’s flesh The earth was formed, And from his bones the hills, The heaven from the skull Of that ice-cold giant, And from his blood the sea.

And in Grimner’s lay:

Of Ymer’s flesh Was earth created, Of his blood the sea, Of his bones the hills, Of his hair trees and plants, Of his skull the heavens, And of his brows The gentle powers Formed Midgard for the sons of men; But of his brain The heavy clouds are All created.

SECTION V. THE HEAVENLY BODIES, TIME, THE WIND, THE RAINBOW.

The heavenly bodies were formed of the sparks from Muspelheim. The gods did not create them, but only placed them in the heavens to give light unto the world, and assigned them a prescribed locality and motion. By them days and nights and seasons were marked. Thus the Elder Edda, in Völuspá:

The sun knew not His proper sphere; The stars knew not Their proper place; The moon knew not Where her position was.

There was nowhere grass Until Bor’s sons The expanse did raise, By whom the great Midgard was made. From the south the sun Shone on the walls; Then did the earth Green herbs produce. The moon went ahead The sun followed, His right hand held The steeds of heaven.

Mundilfare was the father of the sun and moon. It is stated in the Younger Edda that Mundilfare had two children, a son and a daughter, so lovely and graceful that he called the boy Maane[31] (moon) and the girl Sol (sun), and the latter he gave in marriage to Glener (the shining one).

But the gods, being incensed at Mundilfare’s presumption, took his children and placed them in the heavens, and let Sol drive the horses that draw the car of the sun. These horses are called Aarvak (the ever-wakeful) and Alsvinn (the rapid one); they are gentle and beautiful, and under their withers the gods placed two skins filled with air to cool and refresh them, or, according to another ancient tradition, an iron refrigerant substance called _ísarnkol_. A shield, by name Svalin (cool), stands before the Sun, the shining god. The mountains and the ocean would burn up if this shield should fall away. Maane was set to guide the moon in her course, and regulate her increasing and waning aspect.

A giant, by name Norve, who dwelt in Jotunheim, had a daughter called Night (_nótt_), who, like all her race, was of a dark and swarthy complexion. She was first wedded to a man called Naglfare, and had by him a son named Aud, and afterward to another man called Annar, by whom she had a daughter called Earth (_jörd_). She finally espoused Delling (day-break), of asa-race, and their son was Day (_dagr_), a child light and fair like his father. Allfather gave Night and Day two horses and two cars, and set them up in the heavens that they might drive successively one after the other, each in twenty-four hours’ time, round the world. Night rides first with her steed Hrimfaxe (rime-fax),[32] that every morn, as he ends his course, bedews the earth with the foam from his bit. The steed driven by Day is called Skinfaxe (shining-fax), and all the sky and earth glistens from his mane. Thus the Elder Edda, in the lay of Vafthrudner:

Mundilfare hight he Who the moon’s father is, And also the sun’s: Round heaven journey Each day they must, To count years for men.

In the lay of Grimner:

Aarvak and Alsvinn, Theirs it is up hence Tired the sun to draw Under their shoulder These gentle powers, the gods, Have concealed an iron-coolness.

Svalin the shield is called Which stands before the sun, The refulgent deity; Rocks and ocean must, I ween, Be burnt, Fell it from its place.

In the lay of Vafthrudner:

Delling called is he Who the Day’s father is, But Night was of Norve born; The new and waning moons The beneficent powers created To count years for men.

Skinfaxe he is named That the bright day draws Forth over human kind; Of coursers he is best accounted Among faring men; Ever sheds light that horse’s mane.

Hrimfaxe he is called That each night draws forth Over the beneficent powers; He from his bit lets fall Drops every morn Whence in the dells comes dew.

The sun speeds at such a rate as if she feared that some one was pursuing her for her destruction. And well she may; for he that seeks her is not far behind, and she has no other way to escape than to run before him. But who is he that causes her this anxiety? There are two wolves; the one, whose name is Skol, pursues the sun, and it is he that she fears, for he shall one day overtake and devour her. The other, whose name is Hate Hrodvitneson, runs before her and as eagerly pursues the moon, that will one day be caught by him. Whence come these wolves? Answer: A giantess dwells in a wood called Jarnved (ironwood). It is situated east of Midgard, and is the abode of a race of witches. This old hag is the mother of many gigantic sons, who are all of them shaped like wolves, two of whom are Skol and Hate. There is one of that race who is the most formidable of all. His name is Maanagarm (moon-swallower): he is filled with the life-blood of men who draw near their end, and he will swallow up the moon, and stain the heavens and the earth with blood. As it is said in the Völuspá, of the Elder Edda:

Eastward in the Ironwood The old one sitteth, And there bringeth forth Fenrer’s fell kindred. Of these, one, the mightiest, The moon’s devourer, In form most fiend-like, And filled with the life-blood Of the dead and the dying, Reddens with ruddy gore The seats of the high gods. Then shall the sunshine Of summer be darkened, And fickle the weather. Conceive ye this or not?

The gods set Evening and Midnight, Morning and Noon, Forenoon and Afternoon, to count out the year. There were only two seasons, summer and winter; hence spring and fall must be included in these two. The father of summer is called Svasud (the mild), who is such a gentle and delicate being, that what is mild is from him called sweet (_sváslegt_). The father of winter has two names, Vindlone and Vindsval (the wind-cool); he is the son of Vasud (sleet-bringing), and, like all his race, has an icy breath and is of grim and gloomy aspect.

Whence come the winds, that are so strong that they move the ocean and fan fire to flame, and still are so airy that no mortal eye can discern them? Answer: In the northern extremity of the heavens sits a giant called Hræsvelger (corpse-swallower), clad with eagles’ plumes. When he spreads out his wings for flight, the winds arise from under them.

Which is the path leading from earth to heaven? The gods made a bridge from earth to heaven and called it Bifrost (the vibrating way). We have all seen it and call it the rainbow. It is of three hues and constructed with more art than any other work. But though strong it be, it will be broken to pieces when the sons of Muspel, after having traversed great rivers, shall ride over it. There is nothing in nature that can hope to make resistance when the sons of Muspel sally forth to the great combat. Now listen to the Elder Edda on some of these subject.

In the lay of Grimner:

Skol the wolf is named That the fair-faced goddess To the ocean chases; Another Hate is called, He is Hrodvitner’s son: He the bright maid of heaven shall precede.

In the Völuspá:

Then went the powers all To their judgment seats, The all-holy gods, And thereon held council: To night and to the waning moon Gave names; Morn they named And mid-day, Afternoon and eve, Whereby to reckon years.

In the lay of Vafthrudner:

Vindsval is his name Who winter’s father is, And Svasud summer’s father is: Yearly they both Shall ever journey, Until the powers perish.

Hræsvelger is his name Who at the end of heaven sits, A giant in an eagle’s plumage: From his wings comes, It is said, the wind That over all men passes.

In reference to Maane, it should be added, that the Younger Edda tells us, that he once took children from earth. Their names were Bil and Hjuke. They went from the spring called Byrger, and bore on their shoulders the bucket called Sæger with the pole called Simul. Their father’s name was Vidfin. These children follow Maane, as may be seen, from the earth.

SECTION VI. THE GOLDEN AGE. THE ORIGIN OF THE DWARFS. THE CREATION OF THE FIRST MAN AND WOMAN.

In the beginning Allfather (Odin) appointed rulers and bade them judge with him the fate of men and regulate the government of the celestial city. They met for this purpose in a place called Idavold (the plains of Ida), which is the center of the divine abode (Asgard, the abode of the asas). Their first work was to erect a court or hall, where there are twelve seats for themselves, besides the throne which is occupied by Allfather. This hall is the largest and most magnificent in the universe, being resplendent on all sides both within and without with the finest gold. Its name is Gladsheim (home of gladness). They also erected another hall for the sanctuary of the goddesses. It is a fair structure and is called Vingolf (friends’-floor). Thereupon they built a smithy and furnished it with hammers, tongs and anvils, and with these made all other requisite instruments with which they worked in metals, stone and wood, and composed so large a quantity of the metal called gold, that they made all their house-furniture of it. Hence that age was called the Golden Age. This was the age that lasted until the arrival of the women out of Jotunheim, who corrupted it.

Then the gods seating themselves upon their thrones distributed justice, and remembered how the dwarfs had been bred in the mould of the earth, just as worms in a dead body. The dwarfs were quickened as maggots in the flesh of the old giant Ymer, but by the command of the gods they received the form and understanding of men; their abode was, however, in the earth and rocks. Four dwarfs, Austre (east), Vestre (west), Nordre (north), and Sudre (south), were appointed by the gods to bear up the sky. Of the race of dwarfs Modsogner and Durin are the principal ones.

There were not yet any human beings upon the earth, when one day, as the sons of Bor (Odin, Hœner and Loder) were walking along the sea-beach, they found two trees and created from them the first human pair, man and woman. Odin gave them life and spirit, Hœner endowed them with reason and the power of motion, and Loder gave them blood, hearing, vision and a fair complexion. The man they called Ask, and the woman Embla. The newly created pair received from the gods Midgard as their abode; and from Ask and Embla is descended the whole human family. Thus the Elder Edda, in Völuspá.

The asas met On Ida’s plains; They altars raised And temples built; Furnaces they established, Precious things forged, Their strength they tried In many ways When making tongs And forming tools.

On the green they played In joyful mood, Nor knew at all The want of gold, Until there came Three giant maids Exceeding strong From Jotunheim.

Then all the powers Went to the throne, The holy gods, And held consult Who should of dwarfs The race then fashion From the livid bones And blood of the giant.

Modsogner, chief Of the dwarfish race, And Durin, too, Were then created; And like to men Dwarfs in the earth Were formed in numbers As Durin ordered.

And then there came Out of the ranks, Powerful and fair, Three asas home, And found on shore, In helpless plight, Ask and Embla,[33] Without their fate.

They had not yet Spirit or mind, Blood or beauty Or lovely hue. Odin gave spirit, Hœner gave mind, Loder gave blood And lovely hue.

SECTION VII. THE GODS AND THEIR ABODES.

In the Old Norse language a god is called _áss_ (pl. _æsir_) and a goddess _ásynja_. The gods dwell in Asgard. In its midst are the plains of Ida (_Idavöllr_, the assembling-place of the gods), and Odin’s high-seat Hlidskjalf, from where he looks out upon all the worlds. But above the heaven of the asas are higher heavens, and in the highest stands the imperishable gold-roofed hall Gimle, which is brighter than the sun.

The gods, to whom divine honors must be rendered, are twelve in number, and their names are Odin, Thor, Balder, Tyr, Brage, Heimdal, Hoder, Vidar, Vale, Uller, Forsete, Loke. In this list Njord and Frey are not mentioned, for they originally belonged to the vans or sea-gods, and were received among the asas by virtue of a treaty in which Njord was given as a hostage, and Frey is his son.

Of goddesses we find the number twenty-six, and Vingolf is their hall. Odin’s hall is the great Valhal. Spears support its ceiling; it is roofed with shields, and coats of mail adorn its benches. Thither and to Vingolf Odin invites all men wounded by arms or fallen in battle. Therefore he is called Valfather (father of the slain), and his invited guests are called einherjes. They are waited upon by valkyries.

The dwelling of Thor is Thrudvang or Thrudheim. His hall, the immense Bilskirner. Uller, Thor’s son, lives in Ydaler. Balder lives in Breidablik, where nothing impure is found. Njord, one of the vans, dwells in Noatun by the sea. Heimdal inhabits Himinbjorg, which stands where Bifrost’s bridge approaches heaven. Forsete has Glitner for his dwelling, whose roof of silver rests on golden columns. The chief goddess Frigg, wife of Odin, has her dwelling-place in Fensal, and Freyja, the goddess of love, dwells in Folkvang; her hall is Sessrymner. Saga dwells in the great Sokvabek under the cool waves; there she drinks with Odin every day from golden vessels.

We have so far mentioned the following classes of deities: giants, gods, goddesses, vans (sea-deities), and dwarfs. In addition to these the Younger Edda mentions two kinds of elves: elves of light and elves of darkness. The elves of light dwell in Alfheim (home of the elves), but the elves of darkness live under the earth, and differ from the others still more in their actions than in their appearance. The elves of light are fairer than the sun, but the elves of darkness blacker than pitch.

Then we have a lot of inferior spirits, such as trolls, hulder, witches (_vœttr_), nisses, necks, etc., all of which figure extensively in the Norse folk-lore, but an extensive description of them will not be attempted in this work.

SECTION VIII. THE DIVISIONS OF THE WORLD.

Nine worlds are mentioned: Muspelheim, Asaheim, Ljosalfaheim, Vanaheim, Mannaheim, Jotunheim, Svartalfaheim, Helheim, Niflheim. The highest is Muspelheim (the fire-world), the realm of Surt, and in its highest regions it appears that Gimle (heaven) was thought to be situated. The lowest is Niflheim (the mist-world), the realm of cold and darkness, and in its midst is the fountain Hvergelmer, where the dragon Nidhug dwells. Between the two is Mannaheim (the world of man) or Midgard, the round disk of the earth, surrounded by the great ocean. The gods gave Ask and Embla, the first human pair, and their descendants, this world to dwell in. Far above Mannaheim is Asaheim (the world of the gods), forming a vault above the earth. In the midst of this world is Idavold, the assembling-place of the gods, and here is also Odin’s lofty throne Hlidskjalf. Beyond the ocean is Jotunheim (the world of the giants). This world is separated from Asaheim by the river Ifing, which never freezes over. Nearest above the earth is Ljosalfaheim (the world of the light elves), and between it and Asaheim is Vanaheim (the world of the vans). Proceeding downward, we come first to Svartalfaheim (world of the dark elves), below Mannaheim, and between Svartalfaheim and Niflheim we have Helheim (the world of the dead, hell). Thither the way from the upper worlds led down by the north through Jotunheim over the stream Gjol, the bridge over which, called Gjallar-bridge, was roofed over with shining gold.

Footnote 29:

The supreme god.

Footnote 30:

The Tower of Babel.

Footnote 31:

In the Norse language, as also in the Anglo-Saxon, the sun is of the feminine and the moon of the masculine gender.

Footnote 32:

Fax = mane.

Footnote 33:

Ash and Elm.