CHAPTER XXVI.

RELIGION.—ÆGIR AND RAN.[319]

Ægir the god of the sea—His wife Ran—The origin of wind and fire—Figurative names of the sea, the wind, ice, rocks, clouds, hail, and rain—Ran’s net—The nine daughters of Ægir and Ran—Superstitions connected with Ran.

Ægir seems to have been one of the earlier gods worshipped in the North as the god of the sea. His worship must have been deeply implanted in the hearts of the people, and he was worshipped to the end of the pagan era. He was believed to govern the wind and the sea, and with his wife Ran to receive all shipwrecked people. He is fabled to have lived in the island of Læssö, was the son of the Jötun Fornjot, who ruled over Jötland, and had two brothers, Wind and Fire.

“‘How is the wind called?’ ‘The son of Fornjot, the brother of Ægir and of the Fire.’ ‘How is the fire called?’ ‘The brother of the wind and of Ægir’” (Skáldskaparmál, cc. 27, 28).

“Then Gangleri said, ‘Whence comes the wind? He is so strong that he moves large oceans and stirs up the fire, but however strong he is he cannot be seen, so he must be strangely shaped.’ Hár answered, ‘I can tell thee easily. On the northern end of heaven there sits a jötun called Hrœsvelg in an eagle’s shape; when he flaps his wings the winds rise from under them’” (Gylfaginning, c. 18).

The Sagas teem with poetical and allegoric expressions about the sea, the wind, fire, ships, &c., &c. The sea is called—

Ymir’s blood. Ran’s husband. The land of Ægir’s daughters. The land of the ships. The sea king’s road. The house of the sands. The land of the fishing tackle. The land of the sea birds. The land of the fishes. The land of the keel. The land of the ship’s beaks. The necklace of the earth. The belt of the earth. The father of the billow. The father of the nine daughters of Ægir. The glittering home. The clashing chain of the rock. The hidden path.

It is also called the land of different sea kings.

In Virgil the sea is called Arva Neptuni, the fields of Neptune. In the North it is called the land of Ægir, or Ran.

The sky which hangs over land and water was called—

The tub of the wind. The helmet of the wind. The wash-basin of the winds. The highway of the moon. The tent of the sun. The hall of the moon. The hall of the mountains. The wind weaver. The dripping hall. The sea of mist. The upper world, &c.

The wind and storms are called—

Ægir’s brother. The brother of fire. The wolf of the earth. The wolf of the sail. The bane of the ships. The bane of the woods. The stone-mad = very mad. The coldly dressed. The crasher, clasher. The soother, comforter. The squall maker. The whistler, howler. The breaker of the tree. The dog of the sail. The breaker of the rigging. The shower driver. The one madly rushing. The never silent, &c.

The ice against which ships had to contend was called—

The heaven of the deep. The roof of the salmon hall (the sea). The elk’s gallows.

The rocks were called—

The bones of the sea. The bones of the earth.

The anchor was called—

The one with the cold nose.

The clouds are called—

The harbinger of the shower. The wind floating. The strength of the storm. The hiding helmet, &c.

The hail—

The stones of the clouds.

The rain—

The tears of the clouds.

The Asar wanted to get a kettle large enough for them all, and sent Thór to the jötun Hýmir to get it from him. Thor went, and we have from the Later Edda the story about his fishing for the serpent with Hýmir. He came back with the kettle after having slain many Jötnar.

“Ægir, who is also called Gymir, had made ale for the Asar when he had got the large cauldron which has been told of. To that feast came Odin and his wife Frigg. Thor did not come, for he was in Austrveg (eastern lands). Sif, Thór’s wife, Bragi and his wife Idun were there. Týr was there; he had only one hand. The Fenris-wolf tore off his hand when he was tied. Njörd and his wife Skadi, Frey and Freyja, Vidar, Odin’s son, Loki, Beyggvir and Beyla, the servants of Frey, were there. Many Asar and Alfar were there. Ægir had two servants, Fimafeng and Eldir; shining gold was used instead of lights there; the ale carried itself; there was a great peace-place (_grida stad_)” (Lokasenna).

“A man is called Ægir, or Hler; he lived on the island now called Hlésey (Læssö on the Kattegat); he was very skilled in witchcraft. He went on a journey to Asgard; when the Asar knew this he was well received, but with many ocular delusions. In the evening, when they were going to drink, Odin had swords carried into the hall; they were so bright that they shone, and no other light was used while they sat drinking. Then the Asar went to their feast, and the twelve Asar who were to be judges sat down in high-seats. Their names are: Thór, Njörd, Frey, Týr, Heimdall, Bragi, Vidar, Vali, Ull, Hœnir, Forseti, Loki. Also the Asynjur: Frigg, Freyja, Gefjon, Idun, Gerd, Sigun, Fulla, Nanna. Ægir thought that all looked splendid there. The walls were all covered over with fine shields, the mead was strong, and much of it was drunk” (Bragarœdur).

“Why is gold called the fire of Ægir? The following tale is told of it. Ægir, as has been told, had been invited to a feast in Asgard, and when he was ready to go home he invited Odin and all the Asar to visit him in three months. On that journey went Odin, Njörd, Frey, Týr, Bragi, Vidar, Loki, and the Asynjur Frigg, Freyja, Gefjon, Skadi, Idun, Sif. Thór was not there; he had gone to the eastern lands to slay Tröll. When the gods had seated themselves, Ægir had _lýsigull_ (light gold, bright gold) brought in on the floor of the hall, which lighted up and brightened the hall like fire, as the swords do in Valhalla. Loki quarrelled with all the gods and killed Fimafeng, Ægir’s thrall; another of his thralls was called Eldir.

Early the gods of the slain (the Asar) Took their food, And at the feast Ere they were satisfied Shook the twigs And looked on the blood, They found there was Enough at Ægir’s.

(Hymis Kvida, 1.)

Ran, who was the wife of Ægir, and like him also worshipped, was supposed to have a net in which she caught all those who were lost at sea, and the people seem to have been superstitious as to the manner in which shipwrecked persons were received by her.

“Ægir’s wife is called Ran, and their nine daughters have been named before. At that feast everything came by itself, food and drink and all that was necessary for the feast. The Asar became aware that Ran owned a net in which she caught all men that came out on the sea. Now this saying relates why the gold is called the fire,[320] or the light or the brightness of Ægir, or Ran, or Ægir’s daughters” (Skáldskaparmál, c. 33).

The nine daughters of Ægir and Ran had names emblematic of the sea and its waves.

In the Later Edda (Skáldskaparmál), c. 25, we read—

“How is the sea to be called? Ymir’s blood, the visitor of the gods, the husband of Ran, the father of Ægir’s daughters, who have the following names:—

“_Himinglœfa_—the heaven glittering (implying the glittering of the sun and moon on the waves).

“_Dùfa_—the dove (symbolising the stillness of a quiet sea, heaving up and down gently).

“_Blódughadda_—the bloody-haired (so named from the sunset or blood giving colour to the waves).

“_Hefring_—the hurling, heaving—may mean the overdrifting, moving heavily along by a gale.

“_Unn_ (_Ud_)—the loving or beloved one.

“_Hrönn_—the towering one.

“_Bylgja_—the billowing, swelling one.

“_Bara_—the one carrying, lashing against the rocks.

“_Kólga._—the cooling one.”

“Thorod had been lost with his men at sea, and the wreck was thrown up on the shore, but no bodies. His wife and son invited the neighbours to the _arvel_.[321] The first evening of the _arvel_, when the men had sat down in their seats, Thorod and his companions walked into the hall, all wet. They were well received, for this was thought a good omen; men in those days believed that drowned men had been well received by Ran, if they visited their own _arvel_, for there still remained some of the old beliefs, although men had been baptized, and were named Christians” (Eyrbyggja Saga, c. 54).

In Hervarar Saga, Gest asks King Heidrek, “Who are those widows who, according to the habits of their fathers, live together, and who seldom are partial to men, &c.?” The latter replies: “They are Ægir’s daughters (the waves); they always go three together, and the winds awaken them.”

Egil’s son Bödvar having been drowned, the old father in his grief over his loss composed a poem about him. Vol. ii., p. 416.

Very roughly has Ran Handled me, I am very much bereft Of beloved friends. The sea tore asunder The ties of my kin, A string twisted[322] By myself.

Knowest thou that If I avenged this[323] with the sword Then the _ale-smith_[324] Would be luckless.[325] If I could slay The brother of the upheaver of waves[326] I would go and fight Against the wife of Ægir.

But I did not Think I had Strength to fight a battle Against the _plank-bane_,[327] For the helplessness Of an old man Is before the eyes Of all people.

Ran has me Robbed of much; It is bitter to tell Of a kinsman’s death Since my family-shield[328] Parted from life To the _joy-ways_.[329]

(Egil’s Saga, c. 81.)

Fridthjof, for having violated the peace of Baldr’s temple, was condemned by the Kings, Helgi and Hálfdán, to proceed to the Orkneys to collect the tribute from Angantyr the Jarl.

“Then came a wave dashing so strongly that it carried away the gunwales and part of the bows, and flung four men overboard, who were all lost.

“‘Now it is likely,’ said Fridthjof, ‘that some of our men will visit Ran. We will not be thought fit to come there unless we prepare ourselves well. I think it right that every man should carry some gold with him.’ He cut asunder the ring of Ingibjörg and divided it among his men, and sang—

We will cut the red ring Which the rich father Of Hálfdán owned. Before Ægir slays us. Gold shall be seen on the guests In the middle of the hall of Ran, If we need night quarters there, That befits open-handed warriors.”

(Fridthjof’s Saga, ch. vi.)