SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY CONCLUDED.—ADVENTURES OF THOR, AND THE DEATH OF BALDUR.

NEARLY all the deities have been noticed. The origin of night and day, and the sun and moon are thus given. The giant NjÖrvi, who dwelt in JÖtunheim, had a daughter called Night,^[29] who, like all of her race, was of a dark and swarthy complexion. Night married a man named Annar, and had a daughter called Earth.^[30] She next espoused Delling, one of the Æsir; and their son was Day,^[31] a child light and beauteous like its father. Odin then gave to Night and her son Day two horses and two cars, and set them up in the heavens, to drive successively one after the other round the world in twelve hours’ time. Night goes first, driving the horse Hrimfaxi; and he, every morn, as he ends his course, bedews the earth with foam that falls from his bit. Day follows with his horse Skinfaxi; and from his mane light is shed over the earth and the heavens. The man Mundilfari had two children so lovely and graceful that he called the boy MÁni (moon), and the girl Sol (sun). The gods, being angry at the man’s presumption, placed his children in the heavens. The bright and illuminated car of the sun, which the gods made out of the sparks that fell from Muspelheim, to give light to the world, was drawn by the horses Arvak and Alsvid, and driven by SÓl. MÁni was set to direct the moon in his course, and guide his increasing and waning aspect. Two wolves, SkÖll and Hati, are constantly in pursuit of the sun and moon; and it is on this account that they fly so swiftly through the heavens. One day these wolves will overtake and devour them.

One of the gods is named LOKI; and to him is ascribed nearly all the evil that is suffered in the world. He was the calumniator of the Æsir, the contriver of frauds and mischief, and the disgrace of both gods and men. He had a terrible offspring by Angurbodi, a giantess of JÖtunheim. These were, the wolf Fenrir, the Midgard serpent, and Hela, or Death. The wolf Fenrir could only be fed by TYR, the god of Bravery, who, as will be seen, was called the one-handed. Tyr is the most daring and intrepid of the gods. He dispenses valor in battle, and his aid is invoked by warriors. The gods were warned by the oracles, that the power of the wolf was becoming dangerous; and Tyr attempted to make a fetter to bind him. The first trial failed, the wolf snapping the cords asunder as if they had been threads. Tyr next made the fetter called Gleipnir, fashioning it out of six things; namely, the noise made out of the foot-fall of a cat, the beards of women, the roots of stones, the sinews of bears, the breath of fish, and the spittle of birds. Though this cord was as fine and soft as silk, the wolf would not consent to be bound with it, unless Tyr would let him take one of his hands in his mouth. To this he consented; and the gods then bound the wolf; and, finding he could not free himself by breaking the fetter, he revenged himself by biting off the right hand of Tyr. When the offspring of Loki were born, Odin sent for them; and after having the wolf put in fetters, threw the Midgard serpent into the ocean that surrounded the earth. Here the monster grew to such size that he encircled the whole earth, with his tail in his mouth. HELA (Death) was cast by Odin into Niflheim; and her abode is known as Helheim, or Hel. Her habitation is surrounded by exceedingly high walls, and strongly-barred gates. Her hall is called Elvidmir; Hunger is her table; Starvation, her knife; Delay, her man; Slowness, her maid; Precipice, her threshold; Care, her bed; and Burning Anguish forms the hanging of her apartments.

The spirits of those who fell in battle, were carried at once to Odin, in Valhalla—the hall of the slain; and on this account Odin is called Val-father, or father of the slain. Those who die a natural death, or of old age, were taken to Hel. These abodes, however, were not of eternal duration, but only continued until Ragnarok—the final judgment and destruction of the earth and all material things. Valhalla is not represented as a place of unalloyed happiness, nor Hel of continued misery; yet the former was far the most desirable abode. The joys of Valhalla are imagined and pictured on the basis of all our ideas of happiness in another world—the highest degree of felicity known in this.^[32]

The joys and employments in Valhalla, will consist of eating, drinking, and fighting. The spirits of the slain will roam through the vast hall, and eat and drink with the Æsir. The whole celestial banquet will consist of ale, and the flesh of one wild boar, which, being cut off every day, renews itself every night. The goddesses, or women, wait at table, and fill the drinking horns. When the morning repast is over, they all ride out into the plain, and fight, and cut one another to pieces. They are, however, perpetually renewed; and, towards evening, all resume their usual form, and return to drink ale together. Valhalla was of immense size, had five hundred and forty doors, and was spacious enough to contain the Æsir, and all the brave spirits that Odin called to him from earth. In all the accounts of Hel and Valhalla, to be found in the ancient Eddas, there is nothing that goes to prove that the Scandinavians believed in a place of eternal punishment. One or two brief passages from the Younger Edda are quoted, to show that such was the case; but these are proved to have been interpolations in the manuscript of the Edda, by a modern christian writer.

An early period is spoken of, called the Golden Age. Odin had constructed a court, or hall, of great magnificence. It was resplendent on all sides, within and without, with the finest gold. He appointed rulers or judges, to judge with him the fate of men; and in the hall he had twelve seats for them, besides his own throne. This court of justice was called Gladsheim. Another edifice, a very fair structure, was erected for the goddesses. This was called Vingolf. Lastly, a smithy was built, and furnished with hammers, tongs, anvils, and all manner of tools for working in wood, stone, and metal. All the movable things belonging to the gods, were made of gold; and from this the period was known as the Golden Age.

The age lasted until women arrived from JÖtunheim, and corrupted it.

The exploits of Thor form the subjects of the most lengthy and characteristic legends in the mythology of the Scandinavians. At one time Ægir, the ocean deity, entertained all the gods in Asgard, giving them a great feast, at the period of the autumnal equinox. He furnished enough to eat, but drink was greatly wanting; for he had no vessel large enough to brew ale for such a numerous company. Thor hearing that the giant Hymir owned a famous cauldron of great size, he, in company with Tyr, set out for JÖtunheim, to obtain it, determined either by fair means or foul to carry it away. After various adventures he gets it, claps it on his head like a huge hat, and walks off with it, the ears of the cauldron reaching down to his heels! The giants follow and attack him; but he slays them all with his terrible mallet. Having obtained the cauldron, Ægir brewed as much ale as was required; and Loki, Thor, and all the company, have a regular drinking bout. It ended as such scenes usually do—in a fight; and Loki killed one of Ægir’s servants, for which he was expelled by the gods, and kicked out of doors. He was afterwards, however, restored to his place.

Thor and Loki had a famous journey to JÖtunheim, the land of the giants. Thor, as usual, rode in his car drawn by two goats; and when night came they put up at the cottage of a peasant, both the travelers assuming the form and costume of men. Thor killed his goats, and after flaying them, put them in a kettle to cook for their supper, and asked the peasant and his family to partake with him. The peasant’s son was named ThjÁlfi, and the daughter RÖskva. Thor told them to throw all the bones into the goats’ skins, which were spread out on the floor; but ThjÁlfi broke one of the bones to get at the marrow. The next morning, Thor raised his mallet, consecrated the goats’ skins, and they instantly assumed their usual form, alive and well and ready to pursue the journey; but one of the goats was found to be lame in one leg. To appease the anger of Thor, the peasant offered any thing he possessed as a compensation. Thor chose both his children; and ever after ThjÁlfi the Nimble and RÖskva the Quick were his attendants. They then continued their journey, passed out of Mannheim, crossed a broad ocean, and entered a deep forest. They saw a large hall, and, entering it, went to sleep in a deep room at one end. During the night, there was an earthquake and a terrible roaring, which shook the whole edifice. In the morning they found a giant of enormous size, sleeping and snoring near them; and the vast edifice was his glove which he had thrown off, and they had slept in the thumb of it. The giant’s name was Skrymir, and when he awoke he knew Thor at once and called him by name. He offered to carry the wallet of provisions and relieve ThjÁlfi, and after breakfast they journeyed together. Thor, wishing to get rid of his new fellow-traveler, when night arrived, hurled his mallet at him after he was asleep; and it was buried deep in his skull. Waking up, the giant asked if a leaf had fallen on his head. He slept again, and Thor made two more efforts—once his mallet going deep into his cheek; and again, burying it in his head up to the handle. The giant merely put up his hand and asked if a bit of moss or an acorn had fallen on him. He soon, however, left Thor, and pursued his journey to the north. The travelers arrived at the city of Utgard, situated in a vast plain, and immediately paid their respects to Utgard-Loki, the king. His majesty looked at the Thunderer with great contempt, called him a stripling, and said if he was not mistaken it must be Aku-Thor. The king challenged Thor and his companions to try various feats of skill and strength with his subjects, the giants of JÖtunheim. Loki sat down to a trough filled with meat, and to eat a race with a giant; but he got vanquished, his competitor eating the most, and swallowing bones and all. Thor then produced ThjÁlfi to run a race, and he was completely distanced. Thor himself then attempted a drinking bout with the giants; but at three long pulls he could not empty a single horn. He then tried his hand at lifting; but though the giants only furnished a common gray cat to be lifted, Thor could not raise him from the ground, only lifting one foot a short distance. Then he tried wrestling; but though his competitor was a wrinkled old woman, he could not throw her, but came near being thrown himself. Thor confessed that he was vanquished, and turned his steps away, being accompanied without the walls of the city by his majesty Utgard-Loki, in person. Then the king tells Thor that, if he has his way, the god shall never come into his place again, for he fears him and only got the better of him that time by stratagem. He said it was he that met him in the forest, and he had a mountain before him when he slept; and if Thor would see it on his return, he would observe two deep vallies where he buried his mallet, while he thought he struck Utgard himself. The two immense glens that could be seen in the mountain were but the dints of Thor’s mallet. In the contest of eating, the competitor of Loki was Fire itself, that consumed all before it. ThjÁlfi ran a race with Hugi—Thought—which flies faster than the fleetest being that is created. The old woman who wrestled with Thor was Old Age, which could in time lay every thing low. What appeared to be a cat, was the great Midgard serpent, that encompassed the whole earth. The horn he drank from extended to the sea itself; and in this he performed a most prodigious feat, for he settled it greatly, as could be seen, and which was called the ebb. Thor, on hearing how he had been vanquished by stratagem, raised his mallet to strike down the giant; but on turning, he had disappeared, and, instead of a city near by, he saw nothing but a vast plain. This was the end of Thor’s adventures in JÖtunheim. Then to reËstablish his reputation, Thor went out to fish for the great Midgard serpent. He took no companions, not even his car or goats. He traveled in the guise of a young man, and put up at the house of a giant named Hymir, who was going fishing; and he asked Thor to provide some bait. He went into a herd of the giant’s oxen, and seizing the largest bull, wrung off his head; and returning with it, the two put off to sea together. They rowed much further than the giant had ever gone before; and Thor, baiting a hook and line of great strength with the head of the bull, cast it out. The Midgard serpent immediately swallowed it, and Thor drew upon him. The scene was now most dreadful. Thor pulled so hard that his feet broke through the boat, and went down to the bottom of the sea. Thor darted looks of ire at the serpent, and he in turn spouted floods of venom upon him. The giant turned pale with fright, took out his knife and cut the line, when the serpent sunk under water. Thor then grasped his mallet and hurled it at the monster; but he was low down in the sea, and escaped, though some say his head was struck off at the bottom of the ocean. Thor then, with his fist, hit the giant a blow under the ear that knocked him out of sight; and then, with rapid strides, he waded ashore.

Baldur the Good having dreamed that harm was to come to him, Friga, his mother, hearing of it, exacted an oath from every thing, animate and inanimate, stones, trees, fire, metals, and all living things, that they would not hurt Baldur. One thing only was omitted—the misletoe. It was then a favorite amusement for Baldur to stand up, and have the Æsir throw at him their darts, javelins, battle-axes, and other missiles; for none could harm him. Loki, under the guise of an old woman, hearing that the misletoe had not taken the oath, gathered a branch, and calling HÖdur, the blind god, told him to hurl it at Baldur, saying he would guide his arm, and it being only a twig, it could not hurt him. HÖdur threw it, under the guidance of Loki; and Baldur the Good was slain. The gods were speechless with horror, looked at each other, and broke out into violent lamentations of grief. Odin was most sensible of the great loss the Æsir had suffered; and Friga asked who would gain her love and good will by riding to Hel, and trying to find Baldur, and offer to Hela a ransom for his return to Asgard. Hermod offered his services, and left, mounted on Odin’s famous horse, Sleipnir. While Hermod was on this mission, Baldur’s body was borne to the sea shore to be burnt. His ship Hringhorn, the largest in the world, was required for a funeral pile; but no one could move it, till they sent to JÖtunheim for a famous giantess named Hyrrokin. She came mounted on a wolf, with twisted serpents for a bridle, and with one push moved the vessel as they wanted it. Baldur’s body was borne to the funeral pile on board the ship; and the ceremony had such an effect on Nanna, that she died of grief, and her body was burned on the same pile with her husband’s. Thor hallowed the pile with his mallet, and during the ceremony kicked a dwarf into the fire, because he ran before him. At Baldur’s obsequies was a vast concourse. First, there was Odin, with Friga, the valkyrjor, and his ravens; then Frey, in his car drawn by the boar with golden bristles. Heimdall rode his horse, Gulltopp; Freyja drove in her chariot drawn by cats. There were also present many Frost-giants and giants of the mountains. Baldur’s horse, fully caparisoned, was burned along with the body of his master.

Hermod pursued his journey till he arrived at the gates of Hel, and found them barred. He alighted, tightened the girths, mounted, put spurs to the horse, and at one leap sprang over the gate without touching. He found Baldur occupying the most distinguished seat in the hall; and after spending a night with him, asked Hela (death) to let Baldur return to Asgard. She said she would consent to it, provided Baldur was so beloved that every thing would weep for him. Hermod then returned, bearing a gold ring as a present to Odin from Baldur, and some valuable gifts from Nanna to Friga. Every thing wept for Baldur, except one old woman, who refused. This was found to be Loki in disguise, who never ceased to work evil among the Æsir. To escape the wrath of the gods, Loki changed himself into a salmon, was pursued down a river, and in leaping a net was caught by Thor in his hands. The gods then confined him in a cavern, with a serpent directly over him; and as the venom drops on him, he writhes and howls, and this makes that shaking of the earth that men call earthquakes. Loki’s two children were taken, and one changed to a wolf; and he immediately devoured the other.

The end of all material things is known as RagnarÖk,—the twilight of the gods, and conflagration of the universe. The world becomes corrupt; a wolf devours the sun, and another wolf the moon; trees fall, and mountains tumble to pieces. The wolf Fenrir opens his enormous mouth, the lower jaw being on the earth, and the upper reaching to heaven; the Midgard serpent gains the land, and heaven is cleft in twain. The sons of Muspell ride through the breach, led by Surtur, in the midst of flaming fire. BifrÖst breaks in pieces, and a vast assemblage gathers on the battle-field of Vigrid, which is a hundred miles long. Heimdall stands up, and, with all his might, blows a blast on the Gjallar-horn, which arouses all the gods. Odin asks advice of Mimir; the Æsir, and all the heroes of Valhalla, led by the All-father, go forth to the field of battle. The ash, Yggdrasill, begins to shake; a dissolution of all things is at hand. Odin places himself against the wolf Fenrir, and Thor encounters the Midgard serpent. Frey meets Surtur, and they exchange terrible blows; but Frey falls, as he has been without his trusty sword ever since he fell in love with Gerda. The dog, Garm, that had been chained in a cave, breaks loose, and attacks Tyr, and they kill each other. Thor slays the Midgard serpent, thereby gaining great renown; but, retiring nine paces, he falls dead on the spot, being suffocated with the venom that the dying serpent throws over him. Odin is swallowed by the wolf; and Vidar, coming up, with his foot on the lower jaw and his hand on the upper, he tears the animal’s jaws apart, and rends him till he dies. Loki and Heimdall fight, and kill each other. This most terrible battle being over, Surtur darts fire and flame over the world, and the whole universe is consumed by it. A heaven, and many abodes, both good and bad, are supposed to exist after this; for the spirits of all who have lived are immortal. A new earth, most lovely and verdant, shall rise out of the sea, and grain shall grow unsown. During the conflagration, a woman named Lif (Life) and a man named Lifthrasir, lie concealed in Hodmimir’s forest. They feed on morning dew, and their descendants soon cover the earth again. Vidar and Vali survive the conflagration, and dwell on the plain of Ida, where Asgard formerly stood. Thither went the sons of Thor, Modi and Magni, carrying with them their father’s mallet, MjÖlnir. Baldur and HÖdur repaired thither from the abode of death (Hel) and there they hold converse on their past perils and adventures. A famous ship, called Skidbladnir, is spoken of, that is so large that it would hold all the Æsir, and their weapons. It was built by the dwarfs, and presented to Frey; and, being constructed of many pieces and with great skill, when not wanted Frey could fold it up like a piece of cloth and put it in his pocket. In the language of the Edda,

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