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Investigations Into Germanic Mythology, Volume 1 by Viktor Rydberg

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Investigations Into Germanic Mythology, Volume 1 by Viktor Rydberg Undersökningar i Germanisk Mytologi, första delen. Investigations into Germanic Mythology, Volume 1 by Viktor Rydberg IV. THE MYTH IN REGARD TO THE LOWER WORLD. 44. MIDDLE AGE SAGAS WITH ROOTS IN THE MYTH CONCERNING THE LOWER WORLD. ERIK VIDFORLI'S SAGA. Among the Scandinavians far down in Christian times, the idea prevailed that their heathen ancestors had believed in the existence of a place of joy, from which sorrow, pain, blemishes, age, sickness, and death were excluded. This place of joy was called Ódáinsakur, the- acre-of-the-not-dead, Jörð lifandi manna, the earth of living men.1 It was not situated in heaven but below, either on the surface of the earth or in the lower world, but it was separated from the lands inhabited by men in such a way that it was exceeding perilous, although not impossible, to come there. A saga from the fourteenth century2 incorporated in Flateyjarbók, and with a few textual modifications in Fornaldarsögur Norðurlanda, tells the following: Erik, the son of a petty Norse king, one Christmas Eve, made the vow to seek out Odainsakur, and the fame of it spread over all Norway. In company with a Danish prince, who also was named Erik, he proceeded first to Mikligard (Constantinople), where the king engaged the young men in his service, and was greatly benefited by their warlike skill. One day, the king talked with the Norwegian Erik about religion, and the result was that the latter surrendered the faith of his ancestors and accepted baptism. He told his royal teacher of the vow he had taken to find Odinsakur, - "frá honum heyrði vér sagt á voru landi," - and asked him if he knew where it was situated. The king believed that Odainsakur was identical with Paradise, and said it lies in the East beyond the farthest boundaries of India, but that no one was able to get there because it was enclosed by a wall of fire, which reaches up to heaven itself. Still Erik was bound by his vow, and with his Danish namesake he set out on his journey, after the king had instructed them as well as he was able in regard to the way, and had given them a letter of recommendation to the authorities and princes through whose territories they had to pass. They travelled through Syria and the immense and wonderful India, and came to a dark country where the stars are seen all day long. After having traversed its deep forests, they saw a river when it began to grow light, over which there was a vaulted stone bridge. On the other side of the river, there was a plain from which came sweet fragrance. Erik conjectured that the river was the one called Pison by the king in Mikligard, and which has its source in Paradise. On the stone bridge lay a dragon with his mouth agape. The Danish prince advised that they return, for he considered it impossible to conquer the dragon or to pass it. But the Norwegian Erik seized one of his men with one hand, 1 er heiðnir menn kalla Ódáinsakr, en kristnir menn jörð lifandi manna eða Paradísum, "that the heathen people call Odainsakur, but Christian people the land of living men or Paradise" Eireks saga víðförla. 2 Eireks saga Víðförla and rushed with his sword in the other against the dragon. They were seen to vanish between the jaws of the monster. With the other companions, the Danish prince then returned by the same route as he had come, and after many years he got back to his native land. When Erik and his countryman had been swallowed by the dragon, they thought themselves enveloped in smoke; but it disipated and they were unharmed, and saw before them a great plain, sunlit and covered with flowers. There flowed rivers of honey. The air was still, but just above the ground were perceived breezes that conveyed the fragrance of the flowers. It is never dark in this country, and objects cast no shadow. Both the adventurers went far into the country in order to find, if possible, inhabited parts. But the country seemed to be uninhabited. Nevertheless, they saw a tower in the distance. They continued to travel in that direction, and on coming nearer, they found that the tower was suspended in the air, without foundation or pillars. A ladder led up to it. Within the tower there was a room, carpeted with velvet, and there stood a beautiful table with delicious food in silver dishes and wine in golden goblets. There were also splendid beds. Both the men were now convinced that they had come to Odainsakur, and they thanked God that they had reached their destination. They refreshed themselves and laid themselves to sleep. While Erik slept, a beautiful boy, who called him by name, came to him and said that he was one of the angels who guarded the gates of Paradise, and also Erik's guardian angel, who had been at his side when he vowed to go in search of Odainsakur. He asked whether Erik wished to remain where he now was or to return home. Erik wished to return to report what he had seen. The angel informed him that Odainsakur, or jörð lifandi manna, where he now was, was not the same place as Paradise, for to the latter only spirits could come, and the land of the spirits, Paradise, was so glorious that, in comparison, Odainsakur seemed like a desert. Still, these two regions are on each other's borders, and the river which Erik had seen has its source in Paradise. The angel permitted the two travellers to remain in Odainsakur for six days to rest themselves. Then they returned by way of Mikligard to Norway, and there Erik was called víðförli, the far-travelled. In regard to Erik's genealogy, the saga (Hálfdanar Saga Eysteinssonar) states that his father's name was Þrándr, that his aunt (mother's sister) was a certain Svanhvít [Swan-white], and that he belonged to the race of Thjazi's daughter Skadi.3 Further on in the domain of the real 3 This saga clearly identifies Eirekr (Erik) as the one who visited Odainsakur, however Skadi is not mentioned. Still, they may be related as Ynglingasaga 8 informs us that Njörðr fékk konu þeirrar er Skaði hét. Hún vildi ekki við hann samfarar og giftist síðan Óðni. Áttu þau marga sonu. Einn þeirra hét Sæmingur. …Til Sæmings taldi Hákon jarl hinn ríki langfeðgakyn sitt. “Njorth married a woman who was called Skathi. She would not have intercourse with him, and later married Othin. They had many sons. One of them was called Sæming. …Earl Hákon, the Mighty reckoned his pedigree from Sæming.” [L. Hollander tr.]; Two names in this geneology also appear in the geneology of the mythological Eirekr (Svipdag), although in different positions. In the mythology, Eirekr (Svipdag) is the son of Völund's brother, Egil. Svanhvit is one of the swan-maidens in Völundarkvida, and a half-sister of Völund (see no. 110). In this same geneology, the name of Eirekr's grandmother (his mother's mother) is Nauma, which is an epithet of Idunn according to Forspallsljod (Hrafna Galdur Odins) 8. There Idunn is referred to as Nauma in most manuscripts of the poem, or Nanna in others. The verse reads: Sjá sigtívar The divinities see syrga Nauma (or Nönnu) Nauma grieving viggjar að véum; in the wolf's home; vargsbelg seldu given a wolfskin lét í færast, she clad herself therein, lyndi breytti, changed disposition, litum skipti. shifted her shape. myth, we shall discover an Erik who belongs to Thjazi's family, and whose mother is a swan- maid (goddess of growth). This latter Erik also succeeded in seeing Odainsakur (see Nos. 102, 103). 45. MIDDLE AGE SAGAS (continued). ICELANDIC SOUCES IN REGARD TO GUDMUND, KING ON THE GLITTERING PLAINS. In the saga of Hervör,4 Odainsakur is mentioned, and there without any visible addition of Christian elements. Gudmund (Goðmundr) was the name of a king in Jötunheim. His home was called Grund, but the district in which it was situated was called the Glittering Plains (Glæsisvellir). He was wise and mighty, and in a heathen sense pious, and he and his men became so old that they lived many generations. Therefore, the story continues, the heathens believed that Odainsakur was situated in his country. "That place (Odainsakur) is so healthy for everyone who comes there that sickness and age depart, and no one ever dies there." According to the saga-author, Jötunheim is situated north from Halogaland, along the shores of Gandvik. The wise and mighty Gudmund died after he had lived half a thousand years. After his death, the people worshipped him as a god, and offered sacrifices to him. The same Gudmund is mentioned in Bósa saga ok Herrauðs, as a ruler of the Glittering Plains, who was very skilful in the magic arts. Here, the Glittering Plains are said to be situated near Bjarmaland, just as in Þorsteins þáttur Bæjarmagns, in which king Gudmund's kingdom, Glittering Plains, is a country tributary to Jötunheim, whose ruler is Geirröðr (Geirrod). In the history of Olaf Tryggvason, as it is given in Flateyjarbók,5 the following episode is incorporated. The Northman Helgi Thorisson was sent on a commercial journey to the far North on the coast of Finmark, but he got lost in a great forest. There he met twelve red-clad young maidens on horseback, and the horses' trappings shone like gold. The chief one of the maidens was Ingibjörg, the daughter of Gudmund on the Glittering Plains.
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