DOCSLIB.ORG

The Eddas: the Keys to the Mysteries of the North

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Eddas: the Keys to the Mysteries of the North THE EDDAS: THE KEYS TO THE MYSTERIES OF THE NORTH By JAMES ALLEN CHISHOLM List of Abbreviations Alv. Alvismal BD Baldrsdraumar FS Fjolsvithsmal GG Groagalder GM Grimnismal Har. Harbarthslioth Hav. Havamal HM Hymiskvitha HK Hyndlulioth LS Lokasenna RG Rigsthula SD Svipdagsmal SK Skirnismal Thry. Thrymskvitha Vaf. Vafthruthnismal SVSP Voluspa Hin Skamma VSP Voluspa iii Table of Contents List of Abbreviations iii Table of Contents v Introduction vii Volume I: The Elder Edda 1 The Spae of the Volva 3 The Words of Har 16 Lay of Vafthruthnir 41 Lay of Grimnir 51 Lay of Skirnir 63 Lay of Harbarth 71 Lay of Hymir 81 The Flyting of Loki 87 Lay of Thrym 99 Lay of Alvis 105 The Dreams of Baldr 111 Lay of Rig 115 The Shorter Spae of the Volva 123 Lay of Hyndla 127 Lay of Svipdag The Galder of Groa 133 Lay of Fjolsvith 135 Volume II: Keys to Practical Application 143 Chapter 1: Runic Keys to Eddic Myth 145 Chapter 2: Working with Holy Wights, Natural forces, and their Holy Names 163 Chapter 3: Spring Drama and Eddic Myth 175 Chapter 4: Magical Initiation and Faring Forth into Ettinhome 183 Appendix A: Thinking About the Hail Rune 189 Appendix B: Pronunciation of Old Norse 195 Glossary 199 Bibliography 201 Illustrations 205 v Introduction This is a practical manual of self-transformation. It takes the form of a working edition of the mythological poems of the ancient Norse Poetic Edda for modern “pagans” who practice the magic and religion of the North. The poems of the Poetic Edda form the most complete and authentic body of surviving pre-Christian Germanic religious and magical lore. The mythological poems of the Elder Edda hold the keys to the understanding and practice of the pre-Christian religion of the Germanic peoples. This book enables the reader to fathom the mysteries of the Eddic poems so that the elder Troth of the Gods of Europe may again be rightly hailed in holy groves, and the hidden wisdom of the rune-masters rediscovered. This book is especially practical for those who wish follow the authentic pre-Christian religion and magic of the English and other Teutonic folk. A new translation of the mythological poems of the Edda is the main component of this work. The religious content is revealed with accuracy and clarity. Earlier renditions have been artful paraphrases by scholars who valued the poems as literary monuments, but disregarded the religious and mythic content as the nonsensical but amusing folklore of a more primitive world. None of them ever imagined that their audiences would include practitioners of the Eddic religion. The inaccuracies of such translations have led many modern pagans astray. This is the truest translation for purposes of understanding the religious content of the Poetic Edda. The original Old Norse text is included in its entirety on the facing pages of the English version so that the reader can easily compare the two. Notes to each poem, a glossary of religious terminology, in depth discussions, and illustrations are included to illuminate and help in the exploration of the deeper levels of the religious and magical content. These also to provide the keys by which this understanding may be applied in ritual blessings to the Gods and in magical workings. The poems of the Poetic Edda were probably compiled by Saemundr Sigfusson in the 12th century in Iceland. None of the poems can be dated with any certainty, but it is clear that many of the heroic poems go back to the lore of the 6th and 7th centuries. It is generally believed that none of the poems were actually composed in their present form before the 9th century. For the rune-magicians, poetry was a powerful form of magic. The Eddas hold the wisdom of the Erulian Rune- Magicians, and many of these poems may be fathomed to incredible depths and heights, by those who know how to ask. This book is about asking. These poems provide sufficient material for an accurate reconstruction and revivification of the Odian religious and magical philosophies. These poems hold spells, invocations, and lore from which rituals, sacred dramas, and initiatory rites can be reconstructed or authentically created, as well as the keys to understanding the soul and the nine worlds of Yggdrasil - the world tree of the ancient North. Many of the keys are provided also for unlocking the secrets of mysteries of the cults of Thor, Tyr and the Vanir, though much of this lore is filtered through an Odian lens. The Eddic poems are spells, in which the mysteries of the old lore are encoded by word, rhythm, alliteration, idea, and rune. The words of a given stanza are not juxtaposed merely because the resulting rhythms and word plays are pleasing, but because of there are deep magical resonances among such words. The impact of these magical stanzas perhaps may not be registered consciously, but the magic of Eddic lines reaches far below the shallow waters of mundane conscious understanding into the depths of the collective unconscious, into the realms where our souls mingle with the realms of the Gods. The power of the Eddic verses can be used for invocations and magical operations. It is the task of the modern elders (priests) and vitkis (magicians) to gain a conscious knowledge of the meanings and powers of these combinations of word, meter and rune. The stanzas of the Eddic poems hold the secrets of our Gods. It is the task of this book to provide the modern seeker with the keys to understanding deeper levels of meaning and to encode these into modern English for fashioning invoca- tions to the Gods and for shaping powerful poetic staves in magic. vii When you are unraveling the mysteries of the Eddic poems, keep in mind that there are three basic levels of meaning associated with these myths. The first level is that of the narrative itself. From this we find out what our Gods are like and what they stand for. Fundamental truths of the northern social order are reflected in the deeds of the Gods and heroes. The myths tell of basic virtues, of right and honorable conduct, of heroism, and of criminal and dishonorable conduct. The second level of meaning may be termed the natural. This is the level at which the myths may be connected to seasonal festivals. This is the level important to understanding the Vanic mysteries explored in chapter 3. The third level of meaning is the initiatory. Here the myths are considered in their connection to rituals of initiation, especially magical initiation. It is at this level that you can explore the mysteries that lay behind the apparent meanings. Here you may seek the magical applications of a poem. Keys to this level of understanding are provided in chapters - and in the notes to each poem. It is the third level with which this book is most concerned, for the Eddas were composed by initiates into runic mysteries. Deeper linguistic and meta-linguistic levels of meaning may be fathomed by those who work closely with the Old Norse text. The main component of this book is a facing page translation. The translation was rendered as clearly and as accurately as possible. For the sake of accuracy, it is sometimes necessary to use Old Norse words, or their Old English equivalents in order to translate words that convey religious ideas are no longer found in English. These words are defined in the glossary and some are discussed in detail in the notes or chapters. I trust that the lost concepts may be reintroduced into our culture with the reintroduction of these words. Notes are provided to each chapter to allow brief elaboration of important words and ideas and explanations or translations of obscure names. The four chapters following the notes provide keys to understanding the lore and applying it in ritual and magic. Chapter 1 tells how to transliterate the rune poems into the Viking Age runes for purposes of fathoming the runic content of the poems and the meta-linguistic content of the poems. This virtually enables the reader to discover a “Teutonic Kabbalah”. It tells how to create galder or magical runic songs based on Eddic stanzas, and also how create runic sigils based on these poems for gand-magic. Chapter 2 explains the uses of holy names in invocations and magic. Specifically, it tells how to use the holy names of the magical streams of numinous power associated with the natural elements and forces of the nine worlds. In Midgard -the manifest universe- this is the stuff of which weather magic is made. It also tells how to understand these holy names as keys to the magical languages used by the wights of the nine worlds and to use this language in ritual blessings to ettins, dwarves, and elves. The chapter contains a list of other sources for lists of names and deeds, of these wights as well as the rituals for blessings and magical operations in which these wights are summoned. Chapter 3 tells how to recognize Spring Drama motifs in Eddic myths and how to adapt these myths to Spring Dramas and festivals. Chapter 3 contains a spring drama based on the Lay of Svipdag that was performed at the blessing to Ostara in 1989 CE. This chapter also provides other keys to the natural interpretation of Eddic myths. Chapter 4 discusses magical initiation in the Eddas and “faring forth” into the outer worlds for such “shamanic” operations. This chapter discusses kinds of magic that may be performed in some of the outer worlds, and geography of the outer homes.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Norse Myth Guide
    Norse Myth If it has a * next to it don’t worry about it for the quiz. Everything else is fair game within reason as I know this is a lot. Just make sure you know the basics. Heimdall -Characteristics -Can hear grass grow -Needs only as much sleep as a bird -Guards Bifrost -Will kill and be killed by Loki at Ragnarok -He is one of the Aesir -Has foresight like the Vanir -Other Names -Vindhler -Means "wind shelter" -The White God As -Hallinskidi -Means "bent stick" but actually refers to rams -Gullintani -Received this nickname from his golden teeth -Relationships -Grandfather to Kon the Young -Born of the nine mothers -Items -Gjallarhorn -Will blow this to announce Ragnarok -Sword Hofund -Horse Golltop -Places -Lives on "heavenly mountain" Himinbjorg -Stories -Father of mankind -He went around the world as Rig -He slept with many women -Three of these women, Edda, Amma, and Modir, became pregnant -They gave birth to the three races of mankind -Jarl, Karl, and Thrall -Recovering Brisingamen -Loki steals Brisingamen from Freya -He turns himself into a seal and hides -Freya enlists Heimdall to recover the necklace -They find out its Loki, so Heimdall goes to fight him -Heimdall also turns into a seal, and they fight at Singasteinn -Heimdall wins, and returns the necklace to Freya -Meaning of sword -A severed head was thrown at Heimdall -After this incident, a sword is referred to as "Heimdall's head" -Possession of knowledge -Left his ear in the Well of Mimir to gain knowledge Aegir* -Characteristics -God of the ocean/sea -Is sometimes said
    [Show full text]
  • Old Norse Mythology — Comparative Perspectives Old Norse Mythology— Comparative Perspectives
    Publications of the Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature No. 3 OLd NOrse MythOLOgy — COMParative PersPeCtives OLd NOrse MythOLOgy— COMParative PersPeCtives edited by Pernille hermann, stephen a. Mitchell, and Jens Peter schjødt with amber J. rose Published by THE MILMAN PARRY COLLECTION OF ORAL LITERATURE Harvard University Distributed by HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, Massachusetts & London, England 2017 Old Norse Mythology—Comparative Perspectives Published by The Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature, Harvard University Distributed by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts & London, England Copyright © 2017 The Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature All rights reserved The Ilex Foundation (ilexfoundation.org) and the Center for Hellenic Studies (chs.harvard.edu) provided generous fnancial and production support for the publication of this book. Editorial Team of the Milman Parry Collection Managing Editors: Stephen Mitchell and Gregory Nagy Executive Editors: Casey Dué and David Elmer Production Team of the Center for Hellenic Studies Production Manager for Publications: Jill Curry Robbins Web Producer: Noel Spencer Cover Design: Joni Godlove Production: Kristin Murphy Romano Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Hermann, Pernille, editor. Title: Old Norse mythology--comparative perspectives / edited by Pernille Hermann, Stephen A. Mitchell, Jens Peter Schjødt, with Amber J. Rose. Description: Cambridge, MA : Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature, 2017. | Series: Publications of the Milman Parry collection of oral literature ; no. 3 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifers: LCCN 2017030125 | ISBN 9780674975699 (alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Mythology, Norse. | Scandinavia--Religion--History. Classifcation: LCC BL860 .O55 2017 | DDC 293/.13--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017030125 Table of Contents Series Foreword ...................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Hugtakasafn Úr Norrænni Goðafræði
    Hugtakasafn úr norrænni goðafræði (Birt með góðfúslegu leyfi frá Eddu útgáfu) Alfaðir er eitt af fjölmörgum heitum Óðins . Alsvinnur og Árvakur heita hestarnir sem draga kerru Sólar . Andhrímnir er nafn steikarans sem sýður göltinn Sæhrímni í katlinum Eldhrímni í Valhöll . Askur og Embla eru fyrstu manneskjurnar samkvæmt sköpunarsögu norrænnar goðafræði . Þau urðu til þegar fyrstu goðin, Óðinn, Vilji og Vé, fundu tvö tré á ströndu og gerðu úr þeim mannverur . Óðinn gaf þeim anda og líf, Vilji vit og skilning og Vé mál, heyrn og sjón . Askur Yggdrasils sjá Yggdrasill . Auðhumla heitir frumkýr sem varð til þegar hrímið draup í árdaga . Úr spenum hennar runnu fjórar mjólkurár sem nærðu hrímþursinn Ými . Auðhumla sleikti salta hrímsteina í þrjá daga og leysti úr þeim forföður goðanna, Búra . Austri er einn fjögurra dverga sem halda uppi himninum sem gerður var úr höfuðskel Ýmis. Austri heldur uppi austurhorni himinsins, Norðri norðurhorninu, Suðri suðurhorninu og Vestri vesturhorninu. Árvakur sjá Alsvinni. Ás/Ásynjur sjá æsir. Ása-Þór er eitt af heitum Þórs. Ásgarður er bústaður ása. Hann stendur þar sem heimurinn rís hæst og þangað má komast um brúna Bifröst. Þar eru bústaðir goðanna, m.a. Valhöll. Baldur er einn ásanna, sonur Óðins og Friggjar, eiginmaður Nönnu og faðir Forseta . Bústaður Baldurs er Breiðablik . Baldur er bestur og vitrastur goðanna og eftirlæti allra . Baugi er jötunn, bróðir Suttungs . Bergelmir er eini jötunninn sem ekki drukknaði í blóði Ýmis. Því eru allar ættir hrímþursa komnar af Bergelmi og konu hans. Ýmir var afi Bergelmis. NÁMSGAGNASTOFNUN 09893 © 2010 – Iðunn Steinsdóttir æsir á fLjúgandi ferð – hefnd loka – kennsluleiðbeiningar og verkefni – 54 Bestla er jötnamær, dóttir Bölþorns jötuns.
    [Show full text]
  • 13. the Solar Antler in Sólarljóð
    The Waning Sword E Conversion Imagery and Celestial Myth in Beowulf DWARD The Waning Sword Conversion Imagery and EDWARD PETTIT P The image of a giant sword mel� ng stands at the structural and thema� c heart of the Old ETTIT Celestial Myth in Beowulf English heroic poem Beowulf. This me� culously researched book inves� gates the nature and signifi cance of this golden-hilted weapon and its likely rela� ves within Beowulf and beyond, drawing on the fi elds of Old English and Old Norse language and literature, liturgy, archaeology, astronomy, folklore and compara� ve mythology. In Part I, Pe� t explores the complex of connota� ons surrounding this image (from icicles to candles and crosses) by examining a range of medieval sources, and argues that the giant sword may func� on as a visual mo� f in which pre-Chris� an Germanic concepts and prominent Chris� an symbols coalesce. In Part II, Pe� t inves� gates the broader Germanic background to this image, especially in rela� on to the god Ing/Yngvi-Freyr, and explores the capacity of myths to recur and endure across � me. Drawing on an eclec� c range of narra� ve and linguis� c evidence from Northern European texts, and on archaeological discoveries, Pe� t suggests that the T image of the giant sword, and the characters and events associated with it, may refl ect HE an elemental struggle between the sun and the moon, ar� culated through an underlying W myth about the the� and repossession of sunlight. ANING The Waning Sword: Conversion Imagery and Celesti al Myth in Beowulf is a welcome contribu� on to the overlapping fi elds of Beowulf-scholarship, Old Norse-Icelandic literature and Germanic philology.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Goblinlike, Fantastic: Little People and Deep Time at the Fin De Siècle
    ORBIT-OnlineRepository ofBirkbeckInstitutionalTheses Enabling Open Access to Birkbeck’s Research Degree output ’Goblinlike, fantastic: little people and deep time at the fin de siècle https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/40443/ Version: Full Version Citation: Fergus, Emily (2019) ’Goblinlike, fantastic: little people and deep time at the fin de siècle. [Thesis] (Unpublished) c 2020 The Author(s) All material available through ORBIT is protected by intellectual property law, including copy- right law. Any use made of the contents should comply with the relevant law. Deposit Guide Contact: email ‘Goblinlike, Fantastic’: Little People and Deep Time at the Fin De Siècle Emily Fergus Submitted for MPhil Degree 2019 Birkbeck, University of London 2 I, Emily Fergus, confirm that all the work contained within this thesis is entirely my own. ___________________________________________________ 3 Abstract This thesis offers a new reading of how little people were presented in both fiction and non-fiction in the latter half of the nineteenth century. After the ‘discovery’ of African pygmies in the 1860s, little people became a powerful way of imaginatively connecting to an inconceivably distant past, and the place of humans within it. Little people in fin de siècle narratives have been commonly interpreted as atavistic, stunted warnings of biological reversion. I suggest that there are other readings available: by deploying two nineteenth-century anthropological theories – E. B. Tylor’s doctrine of ‘survivals’, and euhemerism, a model proposing that the mythology surrounding fairies was based on the existence of real ‘little people’ – they can also be read as positive symbols of the tenacity of the human spirit, and as offering access to a sacred, spiritual, or magic, world.
    [Show full text]
  • Snorri Sturluson Qua Fulcrum
    MIRATOR 12/2011 1 Snorri Sturluson qua Fulcrum: Perspectives on the Cultural Activity of Myth, Mythological Poetry and Narrative in Medieval Iceland* Frog The present paper seeks to complement discussions of the social impacts of Snorri Sturluson’s (1179–1241) mythography, concentrating on Edda and the discourse it generated in medieval Iceland. It sets out to build an overview of Snorri’s impact on the cultural activity1 of mythology in medieval Iceland through a complementary set of specific examples with no pretence of a comprehensive survey. These examples concentrate on sites of probable innovation in Snorri’s handling of mythological material as contrasted with broader evidence of the traditions to which they are related. Each example could be presented in a paper-length discussion, but the emphasis here is on the construction of an overview in order to develop a broader frame for further discussion. Although no one example is unequivocally demonstrable, the outline of the broader social pattern presented here is not dependent on the specific details of each case nor on any one case independently. Moreover, the frame of the overview affirms that individual discussions are relevant and warranted when surveying and extending existing research. Of course, the recognition of the social impacts of Edda on the cultural activity of mythology does not demonstrate that individual examples are necessarily responses to Edda, it nevertheless shows that these would be consistent with a pattern and trend rather than arbitrary. For this reason, in addition to late or statistically demonstrable examples which are * I would like to thank my two anonymous reviewers as well as Haukur Þorgeirsson for their valuable comments and suggestions in the preparation of this paper for publication.
    [Show full text]
  • Herjans Dísir: Valkyrjur, Supernatural Femininities, and Elite Warrior Culture in the Late Pre-Christian Iron Age
    Herjans dísir: Valkyrjur, Supernatural Femininities, and Elite Warrior Culture in the Late Pre-Christian Iron Age Luke John Murphy Lokaverkefni til MA–gráðu í Norrænni trú Félagsvísindasvið Herjans dísir: Valkyrjur, Supernatural Femininities, and Elite Warrior Culture in the Late Pre-Christian Iron Age Luke John Murphy Lokaverkefni til MA–gráðu í Norrænni trú Leiðbeinandi: Terry Gunnell Félags- og mannvísindadeild Félagsvísindasvið Háskóla Íslands 2013 Ritgerð þessi er lokaverkefni til MA–gráðu í Norrænni Trú og er óheimilt að afrita ritgerðina á nokkurn hátt nema með leyfi rétthafa. © Luke John Murphy, 2013 Reykjavík, Ísland 2013 Luke John Murphy MA in Old Nordic Religions: Thesis Kennitala: 090187-2019 Spring 2013 ABSTRACT Herjans dísir: Valkyrjur, Supernatural Feminities, and Elite Warrior Culture in the Late Pre-Christian Iron Age This thesis is a study of the valkyrjur (‘valkyries’) during the late Iron Age, specifically of the various uses to which the myths of these beings were put by the hall-based warrior elite of the society which created and propagated these religious phenomena. It seeks to establish the relationship of the various valkyrja reflexes of the culture under study with other supernatural females (particularly the dísir) through the close and careful examination of primary source material, thereby proposing a new model of base supernatural femininity for the late Iron Age. The study then goes on to examine how the valkyrjur themselves deviate from this ground state, interrogating various aspects and features associated with them in skaldic, Eddic, prose and iconographic source material as seen through the lens of the hall-based warrior elite, before presenting a new understanding of valkyrja phenomena in this social context: that valkyrjur were used as instruments to propagate the pre-existing social structures of the culture that created and maintained them throughout the late Iron Age.
    [Show full text]
  • The Prose Edda
    THE PROSE EDDA SNORRI STURLUSON (1179–1241) was born in western Iceland, the son of an upstart Icelandic chieftain. In the early thirteenth century, Snorri rose to become Iceland’s richest and, for a time, its most powerful leader. Twice he was elected law-speaker at the Althing, Iceland’s national assembly, and twice he went abroad to visit Norwegian royalty. An ambitious and sometimes ruthless leader, Snorri was also a man of learning, with deep interests in the myth, poetry and history of the Viking Age. He has long been assumed to be the author of some of medieval Iceland’s greatest works, including the Prose Edda and Heimskringla, the latter a saga history of the kings of Norway. JESSE BYOCK is Professor of Old Norse and Medieval Scandinavian Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Professor at UCLA’s Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. A specialist in North Atlantic and Viking Studies, he directs the Mosfell Archaeological Project in Iceland. Prof. Byock received his Ph.D. from Harvard University after studying in Iceland, Sweden and France. His books and translations include Viking Age Iceland, Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas, and Power, Feud in the Icelandic Saga, The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki and The Saga of the Volsungs: The Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer. SNORRI STURLUSON The Prose Edda Norse Mythology Translated with an Introduction and Notes by JESSE L. BYOCK PENGUIN BOOKS PENGUIN CLASSICS Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
    [Show full text]
  • Norse Mythology
    ^^^m,'^^^' Section .tP 231922 NORSE OB, THE RELIGION OF OUR FOREFATHERS, CONTAINING ALL THE MYTHS OF THE EDDAS, SYSTEMATIZED AND INTEEPEETED. AN INTRODUCTION, VOCABULARY AND INDEX. By E. B. ANDERSON, A.M., PROFESSOR OF THE SCANDINAVIAN LANGUAGES IN THE UNIVERSITY OP WISCONSIN, AUTHOR OP "AMERICA NOT DISCOVERED BY COLUMBUS," "den NORSKE MAALSAG," ETC. CHICAGO: S. C. GKIGGS AND COMPANY. LONDON. TRUBNER & CO. 1875. COPTKIGHT 1875. By 8. C, GRIGGS AND COMPANY. I KMIGHT St LEONARD I ELECTROTYPED BY A. ZEESE <tl CO. TO HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW, THE AMERICAN POET, WHO HAS NOT ONLY REFRESHED HIMSELF AT THE CASTALIAN FOUNTAIN, BUT ALSO COMMUNED WITH BRAGE, AND TAKEN DEEP DRAUGHTS FROM THE WELLS OF URD AND MIMER, THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED, WITH THE GRATEFUl. REVERENCE OF THE AUTHOR. I think Scandinavian Paganism, to us here, is more interesting than any other. It is, for one thing, the latest ; it continued in these regions of Europe till the eleventh century : eight hundred years ago the Norwegians were still worshipers of Odin. It is interesting also as the creed of our fathers ; the men whose blood still runs in our veins, whom doubtless we still resemble in so many ways. Strange : they did believe that, while we believe so differently. Let us look a little at this poor Norse creed, for many reasons. We have tolerable means to do it ; for there is another point of interest in these Scandinavian mythologies : that they have been preserved so well. Neither is there no use in knowing something about this old Paganism of our fathers. Unconsciously, and combined with higher things, it is in us yet, that old faith withal.
    [Show full text]
  • Nerthus, That Is, Mother Earth
    Odin’s Wife: Mother Earth in Germanic Mythology SAMPLE CHAPTER © 2018 William P. Reaves II. Nerthus, that is, Mother Earth “Tacitus’ much-quoted account in Germania ch. 40 of the ceremonies related to the goddess Nerthus in the area around Schleswig-Holstein or Jylland is of particular interest here for several reasons. First of all, it suggests that the images of the Bronze Age petroglyphs depicting the hieros gamos and processions related to a fertility deity had parallels in southern Scandinavia as late as AD 100, when Tacitus wrote his account. Secondly, it provides the first reliable evidence that the ceremonies were now associated with a named goddess, who must therefore have had her own mythology and background. This in turn implies that enacted rituals to do with the goddess probably had a mythological parallel.” —Terry Gunnell, The Origins of Drama in Scandinavia, (1995), p.53. In literature, Terra Mater (Mother Earth) first appears as a distinct figure of the old heathen religion in the Germania. Despite intense scholarly debate over the motivations of its author, Germania, written by the Roman historian Tacitus around 98 AD, was probably intended as an accurate account of the customs and conditions of the Germanic tribes who posed a threat on the northern border of the Roman Empire for several hundred years. While his moral observations of the Germanic tribes in contrast to the Roman way of life have led some scholars to propose that this was his chief aim in writing it, this is not sufficient as a general interpretation of the text.1 Not only does Tacitus criticize the Germanic way of life almost as often as he praises it, but much of the material has nothing to do with moral issues and cannot be explained simply as filler.
    [Show full text]
  • Prose Edda Part 3: Pp
    Prose Edda Part 3: pp. 70-89 XLIX. Then spake Gangleri: "Have any more matters of note befallen among the Æsir? A very great deed of valor did Thor achieve on that journey." Hárr made answer: "Now shall be told of those tidings which seemed of more consequence to the Æsir. The beginning of the {p. 71} story is this, that Baldr the Good dreamed great and perilous dreams touching his life. When he told these dreams to the Æsir, then they took counsel together: and this was their decision: to ask safety for Baldr from all kinds of dangers. And Frigg took oaths to this purport, that fire and water should spare Baldr, likewise iron and metal of all kinds, stones, earth, trees, sicknesses, beasts, birds, venom, serpents. And when that was done and made known, then it was a diversion of Baldr's and the Æsir, that he should stand up in the Thing,[legislative assembly] and all the others should some shoot at him, some hew at him, some beat him with stones; but whatsoever was done hurt him not at all, and that seemed to them all a very worshipful thing. "But when Loki Laufeyarson saw this, it pleased him ill that Baldr took no hurt. He went to Fensalir to Frigg, and made himself into the likeness of a woman. Then Frigg asked if that woman knew what the Æsir did at the Thing. She said that all were shooting at Baldr, and moreover, that he took no hurt. Then said Frigg: 'Neither weapons nor trees may hurt Baldr: I have taken oaths of them all.' Then the woman asked: 'Have all things taken oaths to spare Baldr?' and Frigg answered: 'There grows a tree-sprout alone westward of Valhall: it is called Mistletoe; I thought it too young to ask the oath of.' Then straightway the woman turned away; but Loki took Mistletoe and pulled it up and went to the Thing.
    [Show full text]
  • Gods, Heroes, & Kings: the Battle for Mythic Britain
    Gods, Heroes, & Kings: The Battle for Mythic Britain Christopher R. Fee OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS gods, heroes, & kings This page intentionally left blank Gods, Heroes, & Kings The Battle for Mythic Britain Christopher R. Fee with David A. Leeming 1 2001 3 Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi São Paulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto Copyright © 2001 by Oxford University Press Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 First published as an Oxford University Press paperback in 2004 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fee, Christopher R. Gods, heroes, and kings: the battle for mythic Britain / by Christopher R. Fee with David A. Leeming. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index. ISBN 0-19-513479-6; 0-19-517403-8 (pbk.) 1. Mythology, British. 2. Christianity and other religions—Great Britain. 3. Literature, Medieval—History and criticism. 4. British literature—History and criticism. I. Leeming, David Adams, 1937– II. Title. BL980.G7 F44 2001 820.9′15—dc21 00-068156 987654321 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper for emma and morgan This page intentionally left blank ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks are due to the Provost’s Office of Gettysburg College, which provided me with paid leave for a semester at a crucial time.
    [Show full text]