The Book of Viking Myths

by Peter Archer

  The Prose Edda

  Snorri’s most important work, the Prose Edda, is remarkable on several counts. First, it contains a relatively systematic explanation of Scandinavian myth. Second, Snorri suggests that the gods of Viking mythology began as real human beings whose deeds were remembered and around whom cults formed until they were gradually transformed into gods. Thus he recounts that Odin and Thor were both originally of Trojan stock and that Odin traveled to Scandinavia where his offspring became rulers and fathers of the various peoples of the region.

  Edda

  The meaning of the word edda is obscure. The Prose Edda was written in Old Icelandic (a branch of Old Norse), and in that language the word means “great-grandmother.” Since the original of Snorri’s manuscript has been lost, it’s not even clear that he himself used that word in the title of the work.

  The Structure of the Edda

  The Edda contains four parts:

  The Prologue

  Gylfaginning (The Fooling of Gylfi)

  Skáldskaparmál (Poetic Diction)

  Háttatal (List of Meters)

  The Skáldskaparmál and Háttatal

  These parts of the Edda are concerned with the technical forms of Norse poetry. Ostensibly a dialogue between two gods, Bragi and Ægir, about poetic forms, the Skáldskaparmál is in fact a long list of kennings—that is, poetic forms in which two words are substituted for a third word to form a metaphor. For example, rather than say “ship,” a poet might say, “wave horse,” which is more colorful.

  In Háttatal, Snorri describes various forms of poetic meter, using as examples, his own verses. This section is often omitted from modern versions of the Prose Edda.

  Of these four parts, Gylfaginning and Háttatal are the most lengthy.

  Gylfaginning presents its information within a framing device—a journey by King Gylfi to Asgard. Gylfi was, Snorri says, “a wise man skilled in magic.” He knew of the existence of the race of folk called the Æsir, who were wise in everything. Gylfi determined to find out if this was because of the gods they worshipped, so he disguised himself as an old man and traveled to Asgard, seat of the Æsir.

  However, the Æsir, who had the gift of sight, knew that he was coming. They decided to cloak his journey in illusions.

  When Gylfi came to Asgard, he saw a great hall, its roof shingled with golden shields. It was so high he had difficulty seeing over it. This hall, he knew, was Valhalla. A man guarded the gate, juggling seven swords. Gylfi, pretending to be a traveler named Gangleri, asked what the hall was.

  “It is the dwelling place of our king,” replied the man.

  “Who might he be?” asked Gylfi.

  “Come along,” said the man. “I will take you to him, and you can ask him yourself.”

  They entered the hall, and Gylfi saw three thrones, each higher than the next. A man was sitting in each. The man in the lowest seat, they told him, was called High, while the next highest man was Just-as-High. The third man was called Third.

  Gylfi began to question them about the gods, and their answers compose the remainder of the Gylfaginning.

  The Golden Hall

  Valhalla’s golden roof is mentioned in a number of stories. Readers of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, a book profoundly influenced by northern legends, may recall Meduseld, the home of Théoden of Rohan, which is referred to as the Golden Hall, perhaps a reference to Valhalla.

  Gylfi’s questioning of the mysterious three Æsir is fairly methodical. He first inquires about the origins of the world, then about the various gods, including Odin the Allfather, Thor, and Loki (who is not a god but spends a great deal of his time annoying the gods). As well, he asks about the lesser gods and goddesses. From there he proceeds to ask about stories concerning the gods.

  The three are obliging in their answers, giving long explanations and tales. At last they come to Ragnarök, the end of the world, which they explain to Gylfi in full. When Gylfi asks if Ragnarök will mean the true end of the world or if there is something more, the High tells him briefly of the rise of a new world upon the ashes of the old. “If you know how to ask questions reaching still further into the future,” the High tells him, “then I do not know the source of your questions because I have never heard of anyone who could tell events of the world further into the future. And may you find use in what you have learned.”

  At this point, Gylfi/Gangleri hears noises all around him and realizes he is standing in the midst of a great open plain. There is no sign of the fortress or the hall in which the three Æsir had been sitting. Gangleri returned to his people “where he told of the events that he had seen and what he had heard. And after him, people passed these stories down from one to the other.”

  The most interesting element in the story, though, is contained in the epilogue in which the Æsir discuss among themselves what occurred. They recollect all the stories they told (and it’s implied that they made them up more or less on the spot) to Gangleri.

  Then they gave the same names, mentioned above, to people and places there, so that, after much time had passed, people would not doubt that all were one and the same, that is, those Æsir who have been spoken about and the ones who now were assigned the very same names. Someone there was then called by the name Thor, and he was taken to be the old Thor of the Æsir and Thor the Charioteer. To him they attributed the great deeds that Thor or Hector accomplished in Troy.

  Snorri thus further ties the stories of Scandinavian myth to ancient classical myths of Troy. (He also, in a subsequent passage, identifies the crafty Ulysses or Ulixes—Odysseus to the Greeks—with Loki, the trickster god.)

  The Elder Edda

  In the Prose Edda Snorri injects numerous quotations from poetic material, much of which is unknown from any other source. Snorri’s quotations include:

  Sayings of the High One

  The Sibyl’s Prophecy

  The Lay of Hyndla

  The Lay of Vafthrúdnir

  The Lay of Grímnir

  The Lay of Fafnir

  Loki’s Flyting

  Some of this material comes from the Poetic Edda (about which more following), but scholars speculate that other elements must come from a source accessible to Snorri that has now been lost; that source has been designated the Elder Edda.

  The Poetic Edda

  Snorri is by no means our only source for Viking mythology. Equally important is the Poetic Edda (so called to distinguish it from Snorri’s book).

  Although the Poetic Edda was written in the thirteenth century, the materials it assembles and draws on are much older, many probably predating the rise of the Vikings. It is not known who assembled the Poetic Edda, though several candidates have been proposed.

  The Edda is associated in its manuscript history with Iceland, but since Iceland was not settled until 870, it’s probable that many of the poems were composed elsewhere and carried to the island on Viking ships. It is generally accepted that Snorri had access to the material it contains and drew on it for the Prose Edda.

  The Key Manuscript

  The most important manuscript of the Poetic Edda is called the Regius Codex. It was written in the late thirteenth century (probably around 1270). It was kept for many years in Copenhagen but now resides in Iceland. J.R.R. Tolkien was an expert on it and frequently lectured on it. His translation of part of it, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, was published by HarperCollins in 2009.

  Wherever it came from and whoever the author(s), the Poetic Edda has had an immense influence on the literature of Northern Europe. It contains the story of Sigurd and Brynhild, a Norwegian version of the German Ring of the Nibelung. It includes the Völuspá, the most important of the northern creation poems. In all, the Regius Codex contains twenty-nine poems or poetic fragments. (It possibly originally contained more; it is forty-five pages long but is missing eight additional pages.) In addition to this, most versions of the Edda add five more poems for a total of thirty-four.

  The Völuspá
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  The Völuspá is a sustained account of the creation of the world and its peoples. Its name derives from the fact that the völva, or seeress, requests Odin if he would like her to tell of the formation of the world. With his assent, she proceeds to describe how the world was formed from the body of the giant Ymir (see Chapter 5). She recounts the creation of the first man and first woman and the struggle between the two races of gods, the Æsir and the Vanir.

  The Dvergatal

  In the midst of the Völuspá is a “catalog of dwarves,” that is, a list of dwarf names. However, most scholars believe this was added to the poem later and was not part of the original. Among the names listed were:

  Durinn

  Náinn

  Bífurr

  Báfurr

  Bomburr

  Nóri

  Gandalfr

  Thráin

  Thorinn

  Fíli

  Kíli

  Dóri

  Óri

  Readers of Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings will, of course, recognize the source of many of the fantasy author’s dwarf names.

  As well, the seeress describes the killing of Baldr, most beautiful of the gods, through the treachery of Loki, and the subsequent efforts of Odin to bring his beloved Baldr back from Hel (see Chapter 7). Finally, the poem speaks of Ragnarök, the ending of the world, and the rebirth of a new world from the ashes of the old (see Chapter 14).

  General scholarly consensus is that the Völuspá was written in the tenth century and was used as a source by Snorri, since he quotes from it extensively in parts of the Prose Edda. There was probably significant Christian influence, since this was a period when Scandinavia was transitioning from paganism to Christianity. Indeed, some have argued that the purpose of the poem was to preserve some version of the older religious traditions.

  In order, the poems in the Poetic Edda are:

  Lays of the Gods

  Völuspá. The epic poem of the creation of the world.

  Hávamál. Verses attributed to Odin containing wisdom and advice.

  Vafthrúdnismál. A conversation between Odin and Frigg and later between the giant Vafthrúdnir about the structure of Norse cosmology.

  Grímnismál. A long catalog of proper names. Odin, in disguise, is being tortured by King Geirröth. Bound between two blazing fires, he speaks to the king’s young son, Agnar.

  Skírnismál. The ballad of Skirnir, the messenger of Freyr; Skirnir is sent to Giant Land to aid Freyr in his wooing of the giantess Gerdr.

  Harbardsljod. An exchange of insults between Thor and Odin.

  Hymiskvida. A recounting of Thor’s fishing contest with the giant Hymir and of his nearly successful attempt to catch the World Serpent.

  Lokasenna. This is Loki’s taunt to the assembled gods of Asgard.

  Thrymskvida. The Lay of Thrym, this is the story of the theft of Thor’s hammer and the comic episode in which Thor is disguised as Freyja to recover it.

  Alvíssmál. The dwarf Alvis wishes to marry Thor’s daughter and is forced to endure a long interrogation by the god.

  Baldrs Draumar. Odin travels to Hel to learn why his son Baldr has been troubled in his sleep. Here Odin hears that Baldr will die at the hand of Hödr.

  Rígsthula. A poem about the origins of the world in which a god named Ríg creates the various classes of beings that inhabit the earth.

  Hyndluljod. The wise woman Hyndla is asked by Freyja for the genealogy of one of her favorites, Ottar. This leads to the genealogy of many of the heroes of Norse mythology.

  Svipdagsmál. The love story of Svipdag and Mengloth.

  Lays of the Heroes

  Völundarkvida. The story of an artisan, Völund, who is captured by a king, hamstrung, and forced to work on an island, making beautiful objects for the king. The story is parallel to that of Wayland the Smith, which was widespread in Germanic mythology.

  Helgakvida Hjorvardssonar. The story of Helgi, son of the Norse king Hjorvard.

  Helgakvida Hundingsbana. Another lay of Helgi. In this poem he is called the son of Sigmund and there is mention of Sinfjotli, the son of Sigmund and Signy.

  Fra dauda Sinfjotla. This poem gives more detail to the story of Sinfjotli, already told in the Völsunga Saga.

  Grípisspá. Young Sigurd has a conversation with his uncle, Grípir, in which the uncle foretells Sigurd’s path through life.

  Reginsmol. An account of the conversation between the dwarf Andvari and Loki, when Loki takes the former’s gold to put in an otter skin (see Chapter 11).

  Fáfnismál. The story of Fafnir, who becomes the dragon slain by Sigurd and thus the latter’s source of glory as well as wealth.

  Sigrdrífumal. In these verses, which tell of the meeting of Sigurd and Brynhild, the latter is identified with Sigrdrífa, who, because of her disobedience toward Odin, is imprisoned in a circle of fire.

  Brot af Sigurdarkvidu. The end fragment of a longer poem, The Lay of Sigurd.

  Gudrúnarkvida I. The first Lay of Gudrun, this forms a kind of coda to the Saga of the Volsungs, in which Gudrun, Sigurd’s widow, tells of finding his body and then of her wandering for five years and her eventual remarriage to Atli.

  Sigurdarkvida en Skamma. An account of the conspiracy of the brothers against Sigurd and of his slaying.

  Helreith Brynhildar. After her death, as Brynhild travels the road toward Hel, she is accosted by a giantess, to whom she tells further details of her unhappy life.

  Drap Niflunga. Atli becomes Gudrun’s second husband after the death of Sigurd, and she avenges her husband’s murder by killing her brothers Gunnar and Hogni.

  Gudrúnarkvida II. The second part of The Lay of Gudrun.

  Oddrúnargratr. Oddrún, sister of Atli laments for her lost lover Gunnar.

  Atlakvida en Grönlenzka. A further telling of the story of Atli and of Gudrun’s revenge for the death of Sigurd.

  Atlamál en Grönlenzku. Another poem dedicated to the deeds of Atli and the slaying of the sons of Gjúki.

  Gudrunarhvot. The story of Svanhild, daughter of Sigurd and Gudrun, and the wife of Ermanaric, king of the Goths, who after being falsely accused of adultery was trampled to death by horses on orders from the king.

  Hamdismál. The sons of Gudrun, Hamdir and Sörli, take revenge upon the Goths for the death of their sister.

  Skaldic Poetry

  One further source of Viking myth is the works of skaldic poets. There is an overlap with the Poetic Edda here, since some of the skaldic poets wrote works that are preserved within it, while other compositions exist as separate poems. Generally, the term “skaldic” refers to those poets writing in the Scandinavian royal courts and Iceland during the Viking age and beyond. They used complicated forms of poetic diction; hence the need for Snorri’s guide to poetic forms that is contained in the last part of the Prose Edda.

  Snorri is numbered among the skalds; other important ones include:

  Eyvindr Finnsson (tenth century)

  Hallfredr Óttarsson (tenth century)

  Úlfr Uggason (tenth century)

  Thórarinn loftunga (eleventh century)

  King Harald Hardrada (eleventh century)

  Chapter Five

  In the Beginning . . .

  This is how it was in the beginning.

  Before the earth came into being, there were two realms: To the south lay Múspell, a world that was bright and hot. Flames rose from it hundreds of feet into the air. No being who was not from Múspell could dwell there for the fearful heat. At the very edge of the realm stands the Black One, Surtr, a fire giant. He bears a flaming sword and guards against all outsiders. On the day the world ends, he will battle against the gods, destroying them and the earth with a great fire from his blade.

  In the north was the freezing realm of Niflheim. There were snows and eternal ice, and the air was itself frozen. From Niflheim eleven rivers came forth, all emerging from a great spring called Roaring Kettle (Hvergelmir). These rivers are:


  Svol

  Gunnthra

  Fjorm

  Fimbulthul

  Slid

  Hrid

  Sylg

  Ylg

  Vid

  Leiptr

  Gjol

  This last river, Gjol, lies adjacent to the Gates of Hel, the dark underworld, and separates the souls of the living from those of the dead. All these rivers poured their flowing waters into the space between Niflheim and Múspell. This was called Ginnungagap, the Yawning Void. As the waters fell into Ginnungagap, they froze, and the ice gradually filled the void. Near the top, it was warmed by the fires of Múspell and transmuted into clay.