Norse Mythology

by Patrick Auerbach

  The king declared himself unimpressed by Thor’s companions and challenged Thor himself to redeem the gods’ reputation for power. Thor offered to show both his strength and his drinking ability.

  No opponent was chosen for Thor in the drinking contest, but he was given a drinking-horn-large, indeed, but not impossibly so-and urged to drink it down in three draughts or fewer. Thor drank mightily, but the liquid in the horn hardly seemed to go down at all.

  The king, laughing, said that since Thor was such a small man he would ask him for no greater feat of strength than to pick up the king’s cat. The cat was rather large, but Thor thought it quite manageable until he went to lift it. The cat was terribly heavy, and when with great strain he lifted its belly as high as his head the cat’s feet were still on the floor. The king laughed again and mocked Thor’s smallness and weakness and Thor, infuriated, said that little or not he would wrestle with any man there.

  The king, however, said that Thor was not worthy or capable of wrestling with his fighting men and called out an old woman to wrestle him. Thor meant to be gentle with her at first but soon he saw that there was no need for that, for she was stronger than he and soon forced him to his knees. Greatly ashamed, Thor rose and re-joined his companions who were much laughed at but also well fed.

  In the morning the gods and Thialfi took their leave. The king of the giants went out of the city with them, asking how they had liked their visit. Thor said that he had been clearly bested and was deeply shamed.

  The king told him then that there was not a need for shame, for Thor and his companions had not been honestly beaten but deceived. When the giants heard of Thor’s coming they were afraid, and they wove spells of illusion around themselves and their city so that they appeared much larger than they truly were. Skrymir was the king himself in disguise, and when Thor thought he struck at Skrymir’s head he was truly striking at the mountain that Skrymir had set between Thor and himself. Everything within the city they had taken for Utgard was similarly disguised. Loki’s opponent in the eating contest was no man or giant but wildfire itself. Thialfi’s opponent in the race was the king’s thought given bodily form. The great horn Thor failed to empty was the sea itself, and his great draughts from it terrified the giants and caused the ebbing and flowing of the tides. The cat was indeed no cat but the vast Midgard Serpent whose coils filled the sea that surrounds the world of men. And the old woman who outwrestled Thor was Old Age herself, who was stronger than any giant, god or man. The king said that Thor showed himself stronger in the tests than the giants had expected, and if ever Thor came to visit them again they would once again fall back on spells of illusion.

  Thor raised his hammer against the king and against the city, but in a twinkling they were gone.

  II: Thor the Bride

  One day Thor awoke to find his lightning hammer Mjollnir missing. He was furious and the gods were afraid, for they had lost their best weapon and they feared who might seek to turn it against them. Thor went to Loki for help, and Loki went to Freyja to beg the loan of her falcon feather cloak. She told him he’d be welcome to it if it was made of silver or gold, and she hurried him off on his search.

  Loki put on the cloak and flew in falcon shape to Jotunheim, the land of the giants, where he stopped at the great hall of Thrym who was one of their strongest and wealthiest leaders. There he took off the cloak and appeared in his true form to Thrym, who asked him how the gods fared and what Loki’s business might be.

  Loki, for once, gave him a straight answer saying that the gods did very ill and they missed Thor’s hammer, and asked if Thrym had taken it. Thrym answered roundly that he had taken it and buried it deep in the earth, and that the gods would not see it again until they sent him Freyja to be his wife.

  Loki flew back to Asgard, where Thor demanded news before Loki had time even to land and change his shape. Loki passed on the giant’s demand. Thor hurried to Freyja and told her to hurry and get ready for her wedding, for they had no time to lose. Freyja snorted fiercely enough to shake the whole hall and burst her most beautiful and treasured necklace. She made it extremely clear that she was completely unwilling to marry the giant, and that she’d be shamed before all the gods if she even thought of such a thing. Thor, who wanted his hammer as badly as Freyja wanted to avoid the marriage, appealed to the other gods who met for an urgent council.

  Heimdall, the guardian of the rainbow bridge, suggested that Thor and Freyja both could be satisfied and Asgard kept safe, if Thor dressed himself in bridal garments and went to the giants in Freyja’s place. He carefully spelled out what Thor would need for his disguise including a bridal veil, Freyja’s necklace and a pretty cap in place of his war-helm.

  Thor was almost as outraged as Freyja had been, and he pleaded that all the gods would call him unmanly if he let himself be dressed in women’s clothing. But Loki, who had a practical mind and no great use for honor, observed that if they didn’t get Mjollnir back the giants would wield it against Asgard and the gods would be overthrown. So Thor let himself be persuaded, and Loki agreed to don women’s clothes as well and travel to Thrym’s hall as Thor’s maidservant. They disguised themselves, set off in Thor’s goat-drawn chariot and soon came to Thrym’s hall.

  Thrym was delighted at their coming, and told all the company that with all his wealth, a lovely bride like Freyja was the one thing he had lacked. As soon as the guests entered a great feast was served. Thrym was astonished to see his bride-to-be devour eight salmon and a whole ox and drink three barrels of mead; this, he said, was by far the hungriest maiden he’d ever heard of. Loki answered quickly that Freyja had not eaten for eight days because she longed so hotly for Jotunheim. Thrym, much encouraged, leaned closer to his bride intending to kiss her. Instead he leaped back the full length of the hall and asked why the maiden’s eyes burned so even through her veil. Loki explained that Freyja had not slept for eight days because she longed so hotly for Jotunheim.

  Thrym’s sister chose that moment to step forward and ask for the rings from Freyja’s fingers, which were apparently the customary gift a bride should make to her sister-in-law. Thrym cut across her, calling for Thor’s hammer to be brought out so that he and Freyja could swear their wedding vows on it. He set the hammer on the bride’s knees, among the folds of her beautiful gown.

  Thor laughed, took up the hammer, and slew all the giants in that hall. Then he and Loki rode back to Asgard together, laughing.

  Chapter Eight: The Curse of Gold

  On another occasion Odin, Honir and Loki went exploring together, but this time instead of the world of giants they wandered into the world of men. They came to a stream that had been dammed into a pool, and on the dam sat an otter with a freshly caught salmon. Loki threw a stone at the otter and killed it, and he laughed and congratulated himself on having secured both salmon and otter with one throw. When they came to a house they laid aside all their weapons and tokens of power, asked for lodging for the night and said that they brought their own food, showing Loki’s kills.

  But the master of the house, Hreidmar, was a powerful enchanter and when he saw the dead otter his face hardened. He called his sons Fafnir and Regin to him and said to them that their brother the otter was dead, and that these three travelers had killed him. They fell on the gods and bound them, and Hreidmar told them that they deserved to die for they had killed his son while he was in an enchanted disguise.

  Now the gods had meant no such harm but the deed was done, and they promised that if Hreidmar freed them they would bring him whatever ransom he asked for. Hreidmar agreed to this, and oaths were sworn on both sides. Then he showed them the skin of the otter and told them both to fill and cover it with gold, and he would consider the blood-price paid.

  Odin and Honir remained prisoners in Hreidmar’s house, but Loki was sent out to bring back the ransom. He traveled to Svartalfheim, the home of the Dwarves or Dark-Elves, who were known for the treasures they wrought and collected. There he found a solitary fish pla
ying in a stream. Now Loki looked closely at this fish as he had failed to look at the otter, and he thought it was more than it seemed. He snatched the fish up in his hands and told it that he would kill it unless it ransomed its life with all the gold it possessed.

  Then the fish took on its true shape, that of the wealthy Dwarf Andvare, who took Loki home to the rock where he kept his treasure and gave him his entire hoard. Loki saw that Andvare kept his hand clenched around something, and he demanded to know what it was. Andvare opened his hand to show a small ring. He begged to be allowed to keep that, saying that if he only had that he would soon become a wealthy man again. Loki demanded the ring as well as the rest and Andvare handed it over in fear of his life, but he cursed the ring and said that ever afterward it would bring only evil to its possessor. At this Loki laughed and said that he was satisfied, as he did not mean to keep the ring himself.

  Loki returned to Hreidmar’s house and showed the treasure to Odin and Honir. Odin saw that Andvare’s ring was very beautiful, and he said that he would keep that for himself giving the rest of the gold as ransom. Loki gave it willingly and said nothing about the curse. Then Hreidmar was called in to count up his blood-money.

  The gold Loki brought filled the otter-skin and almost covered it, but there was still a lip-hair left uncovered and Hreidmar said he did not count the ransom paid. Then Odin gave him Andvare’s ring, and Hreidmar pronounced himself satisfied and freed his captives. Once Odin had taken up his spear again and Loki his enchanted shoes, they had nothing to fear from Hreidmar’s enchantment so Loki told Hreidmar of Andvare’s curse before they departed.

  The curse acted quickly in the world of men. Hreidmar and his sons stood together after the gods were gone, and they looked at the ransom the gods had paid. They thought perhaps more of the gold than of their dead kinsman. Fafnir and Regin demanded their share of the blood-price, for Hreidmar had lost a son but they had lost a brother. Hreidmar, however, claimed all the treasure as his own. The brothers were angry and killed him. Regin then proposed to divide the treasure with his brother, but Fafnir said that he had killed his father already for the sake of the gold and he would not hesitate to kill his brother as well. Then Fafnir buried the treasure on the wild heath of Gnitta, took on the shape of a dragon and brooded over the hoard, while Regin fled to King Alf’s court and plotted vengeance.

  III. Revenges

  Once Sigurd’s sword Gram was forged, Regin urged Sigurd against the dragon again. Sigurd replied that before avenging Regin’s wrongs or seeking wealth, he had his father’s death to avenge. He went to King Alf and raised an army, and they set out in long ships to attack King Lyngi’s land. A storm rose on the sea, and the ships were near sinking when Sigurd in the foremost ship saw an old man on a rocky island. The old man demanded to be taken on board, and Sigurd welcomed him. Then the waves calmed and a fair wind arose, and the ships glided swiftly over the sea as the old man passed on battle-lore to the young prince. When the ships made landfall the old man once again vanished without telling Sigurd that Odin had stood at his side.

  The battle against Lyngi’s folk was furious, but Sigurd’s men had the victory thanks largely to Sigurd himself, who led the charge and killed Lyngi and his sons. The fleet went home heavy with the gold they had won.

  King Alf and his people welcomed Sigurd home, but Regin met him with a cold and challenging look and asked if he now dared to honor his word and ride against the dragon. Sigurd, as cold and as proud, agreed.

  Now other heroes had gone to attack the dragon, both on their own and in armies, and all of them were dead. Terror billowed around Fafnir like a foul scent in the air, and his great mouth spat deadly venom which neither shield nor armor could keep off. To wound Fafnir was a danger in itself, for the dragon’s boiling blood burned.

  Nevertheless Sigurd followed Regin into the wilderness to find the dragon. But when they saw the track where the great beast had dragged its belly along the way from its lair to the lake where it drank, Sigurd turned to Regin and said, “I thought you told me Fafnir was no larger than common for a dragon, but this track is marvellously great.”

  Regin replied that it hardly mattered, as of course Sigurd wouldn’t be attacking Fafnir frontally. The dragon was a creature of habit and it used the same track always; so if Sigurd dug a pit in the path and hid in it he could easily stab it from underneath.

  “What about that boiling blood?” Sigurd asked. Regin called him a coward, and an unworthy son of his father. Sigurd said no more but set to digging a pit while Regin hid himself.

  As Sigurd dug an old man came by and asked what he was doing. Sigurd explained, and the old man told him to dig many pits to hold the dragon’s blood lest he should drown in it. Sigurd did so, and Odin vanished.

  As Sigurd finished digging he felt the earth shaking with Fafnir’s approach, and he smelled the acid stink of dragon poison. But he stayed in his place, and when the dragon’s belly scraped above him he drove his sword into it up to the hilts before springing free, bloody to the shoulder and in pain.

  Fafnir’s first agony shook the earth and shattered trees and stones, but then he lay more quietly and asked Sigurd his name and who had urged him on. When Sigurd answered truthfully Fafnir mocked him as a king’s son with no kingdom. But he gave Sigurd good advice as well, if only Sigurd had heeded him. He warned that a heavy curse lay on the dragon hoard, and that Regin hated Sigurd even as he hated Fafnir. He urged Sigurd to ride swiftly away and be free of curse and hate alike. But Sigurd said that he feared no curse for all men had to die someday, and that he would not turn away from honor or from treasure. So Fafnir died and the curse passed on from him.

  When the last quaking of Fafnir’s death-tremors passed away Regin came out of his hiding place. He stared at the ground and muttered that Sigurd had killed his own brother, and that he himself was not blameless in the matter. Sigurd said that he himself had borne all the danger of the dragon slaying while Regin hid, but Regin claimed credit for the advice and the sword that he had given to Sigurd. He cut the dragon’s heart out and told Sigurd to roast it and leave it for Regin as the blood-price for his brother’s death. Then Regin lay down to sleep.

  When Sigurd thought the heart might be done he put out his finger to touch it and the hot fat burned him; he sucked his finger to ease the pain, and as that morsel of the dragon’s heart passed his lips he understood the speech of the birds in the broken tree behind him. They warned, as Fafnir had, that Regin had plotted both Fafnir’s death and Sigurd’s; they said that great wisdom would come to the eater of the dragon’s heart, and they urged Sigurd to kill Regin, save his own life and keep both gold and wisdom for himself. Sigurd believed them and killed Regin in his sleep. The birds told him then that the dragon’s gold would win him a worthy wife in the court of King Giuki, and they sang of a wise Valkyrie who lay on the high fells locked in an enchanted sleep.

  Sigurd desired everything the birds described. He ate of the dragon’s heart. He rode to the dragon’s lair, took the accursed gold of the hoard and piled it on his horse. Then he rode away with a high heart to seek his fortune.

  IV. Love and Deceit

  Sigurd rode over the high fells until he saw a castle that burned bright as flame. Going in, he found an armored figure lying fast asleep. Sigurd cut the armor away with the sword Regin had forged for him. As the armor fell away he saw that the sleeper was a woman, and very beautiful. She woke and turned a piercing gaze on him.

  The sleeper gave her name as Brynhild the Valkyrie, praised the light of day and the beauty of the world, and lamented the long sleep into which Odin had cast her. She had gone to a mortal battle where Odin had already decreed which side should have the victory, but had looked with favor on the leader doomed to die and she slew the man whom Odin had chosen as victor. Odin then told her that she would never again have the victory, but would sleep long and then be bound in a marriage which would bring her no joy. Brynhild, however, swore that she would never marry a man who had feared and sh
e looked on Sigurd and thought him likely to be fearless.

  Sigurd said that he had heard of her wisdom, and Brynhild offered to teach him the runes that gave skill in battle, safety on the sea, victory in arguments, clear-headedness in liquor and skill in healing. Sigurd was eager to learn all she would teach, although she warned that there was danger in the learning. He learned from her and loved her, and they pledged to love each other always and to marry. Sigurd rode away to the castle of King Heimir, Brynhild’s foster-father in the mortal world. He was welcomed and honored there. Brynhild followed him and they loved each other well, but she was in no haste to lay aside her horse, armor and weapons and become a wife, and more than once she warned him that he would marry another and cause great misery. Sigurd swore that he would do no such thing, and he gave her Andvare’s cursed ring as a token of love.

  The report of Sigurd’s courage, strength, courtesy and good looks spread far and wide, and Heimir’s neighbors King Giuki and Queen Grimhild invited Sigurd to visit their court. He was made welcome there and loved by all- most of all by Gudrun, Giuki and Grimhild’s daughter. Queen Grimhild heard Sigurd speak often of his love for Brynhild, but she resolved that he would nevertheless marry Gudrun. She was skilled in magic, and she brewed him a drink which caused him to forget Brynhild completely. Then she offered him Gudrun’s hand in marriage, and Sigurd accepted with joy. Gudrun’s eldest brothers swore oaths of brotherhood to Sigurd, and Grimhild taught him the magic skill of shape-changing as she had taught it to her own children. Sigurd fathered a son and a daughter with Gudrun, led Giuki’s army in many raids and battles and never thought of returning to Heimir’s court. Nor did he know that Brynhild in his absence had borne him a daughter.