Tales of Valhalla

by Martyn Whittock

  Loki took the gold back to Odin who gave it to Hreidmar – except for the ring. Odin thought it a thing of great beauty and so kept it for himself. Having received the gold, Hreidmar filled the otter-skin with it. When it was so full that no more gold could be pressed inside, Odin began to cover the outside of the pelt with gold. Soon the whole skin was covered with gold. The whole skin, that is, apart from one whisker. Seeing this, Hreidmar demanded that it too should be covered or the agreement that had been made with the Æsir would be null and void. In response, Odin took the ring and with it he covered the remaining whisker of the otter. In so doing, the agreement with Hreidmar was fulfilled since the otter-payment had been made in full.

  This being done, the possessions of the Æsir were returned to them. Odin received back his powerful spear and Loki the shoes with which he could race across sea and sky. Then the Æsir were no longer afraid of Hreidmar and so Loki pronounced the ring’s doom on Hreidmar. And this was indeed so. The gold was the cause of Hreidmar’s death. This is why some poets call gold by the name of ‘otter-payment’. Others, mindful of the way that the gold was paid over and of the fate of Hreidmar, know it as ‘metal of conflict’. Still others call it ‘forced payment of the Æsir’ in memory of the way that they had to produce the gold in order to save their lives.

  Gold described as ‘Fafnir’s home’

  This is how the gold taken from Andvari became the doom of Hreidmar. Once he had taken the gold, he refused to share any of it with his sons. For they had demanded some as compensation for the death of Otter, their brother. When Hreidmar refused them, they killed him, their own father.

  With Hreidmar dead, the two brothers fell out among themselves. Regin demanded that Fafnir should share the gold with him. But Fafnir replied that, since he had killed his own father for the gold, he was not inclined to share it with his brother and that Regin should leave before he was killed. Following this threat, Fafnir put on a terrifying helmet that had belonged to Hreidmar and took up his father’s sword, too. Regin fled away at the sight. Picking up the gold, Fafnir took it up to the heathland that is called Gnitaheath or ‘Glittering Heath’. There he dug a lair for himself and the gold. With the gold hidden underground, Fafnir turned into a serpent and lay down on the gold (in the manner of dragons, who guard the gold within burial mounds).

  Although Regin had not gained his share of the gold, he had not given up on it. He went to live at the court of King Hialprek of Denmark. There he became a craftsman making fine swords. While there, Regin became the foster-father to Sigurd, son of Sigmund, of the family of the Volsungs. Sigurd was renowned for his strength and his courage as a royal warrior who was descended from brave ancestors. Regin told Sigurd about the great hoard of treasure hidden on Gnitaheath and how it was guarded by Fafnir the serpent. Regin told Sigurd that he should go with him and win this gold. To this end, Regin forged him a sword, which was called Gram (meaning ‘wrath’) and which was so sharp that with it Sigurd cut Regin’s iron anvil in two. Prepared for battle, the two set out for Gnitaheath and Fafnir’s great hoard of gold.

  There an ambush was prepared for Fafnir. Sigurd dug a trench in the place that Fafnir came down to drink. He hid in the trench and when Fafnir the serpent passed above him he drove his sword through the serpent’s body. And so died Fafnir. With the serpent dead, Regin told Sigurd that he had killed his brother but that he would accept compensation in the form of Sigurd roasting Fafnir’s heart for him. While Sigurd did this, Regin drank from Fafnir’s blood and then lay down to sleep.

  Meanwhile, Sigurd was still roasting the heart of Fafnir. Testing whether it was cooked, he burned his fingers on the juices that seeped out and so he put them in his mouth to cool. As the blood of Fafnir touched his tongue he suddenly found that he could understand the language of the birds in a nearby tree. One bird said how Sigurd would be wise to eat Fafnir’s heart himself. Another bird spoke and said how Regin was plotting revenge against the warrior who had killed his brother.

  Warned by the birds, Sigurd rose, drew his sword and killed Regin. Taking Grani, Regin’s horse, Sigurd rode further onto Gnitaheath, until he came to the lair in which Fafnir had hidden the gold. Taking the treasure he placed it on the back of Grani and rode away with it. That is why some poets refer to gold as ‘Fafnir’s home’, while others call it ‘Grani’s load’ and yet others call it ‘Gnitaheath-metal’.

  Gold described as ‘Niflungs’ treasure’

  After Sigurd gained the gold, he rode on until he came to a hall set on the mountain; and inside he found there was a sleeping woman. She was dressed in helmet and mail. Sigurd cut the mail from her and she awoke and told him that her name was Hild and that she was a valkyrie.

  From there, Sigurd rode on to the court of King Giuki. He stayed there some time and married the king’s daughter, Gudrun. Her brothers – Gunnar and Hogni – then swore oaths of brotherhood with Sigurd. The family of Giuki were known as the Niflungs. As a result of the oath of brotherhood, Sigurd accompanied them when they rode to seek a bride for Gunnar. This was Brynhild, the sister of Atli Budlason, whom some call Attila the Hun. Now, Brynhild’s home of Hindafell was surrounded by fire and she had sworn to only marry the man who was brave enough to cross that ring of flames. Gunnar was determined to cross the fire but his horse refused to do so. Only Sigurd’s horse, Grani, was prepared to do this but Grani would let nobody on his back but Sigurd, and he knew who Sigurd was no matter how well he was disguised. So Sigurd and Gunnar exchanged appearance. By so doing, the horse would cross the flames for he knew his rider was really Sigurd (even though he appeared to be Gunnar) and yet Brynhild would believe that it was Gunnar who had done so and therefore would consent to marry him. This is what happened but that night Sigurd placed his sword between them so that they had no sexual relations. In the morning, he and Brynhild exchanged gifts. He gave her the ring that had once belonged to Andvari, and she gave him a ring from her own treasure store.

  In this way Gunnar won Brynhild and married her. But things did not go smoothly within that family because of a falling out between Brynhild (the wife of Gunnar) and Gudrun (the wife of Sigurd). And that arose from Brynhild’s boasting. For one day she and Gudrun went to the river to wash their hair. While they were doing this, Brynhild said that she should not stand downstream from Gudrun and have Gudrun’s soiled water to bathe in, for her husband Gunnar was braver than Sigurd. At this Gudrun retorted that in truth it was Sigurd who was the bravest for he had killed both Fafnir and Regin and seized their gold-hoard. Brynhild was not impressed and answered her that Sigurd had not dared to cross the barrier of fire at Hindafell; only Gunnar had dared do that. Gudrun then answered that the gold ring that Brynhild treasured was the same as one that Gudrun herself had been given by Sigurd and this was clear proof that it was Sigurd who had crossed the flames, slept with Brynhild and given her a ring. These rings had come from Fafnir’s gold-hoard on Gnitaheath and only Sigurd owned that golden treasure now. At this, Brynhild fell silent, for she could make no reply.

  Brynhild was bitter at what Gudrun had said and so she tried to incite Gunnar, her husband, to kill Sigurd and to include Hogni in the killing. But both men refused as they were sworn-brothers of Sigurd. Instead, they got their other brother, Gothorm, to do the killing. He stabbed Sigurd, but Sigurd threw his sword at him and it sliced him in half. As well as killing Sigurd, his three-year-old son Sigmund was also murdered at the same time. Brynhild then stabbed herself and was burned on the same funeral pyre as Sigurd. Gunnar and Hogni took Fafnir’s treasure and ruled jointly. Brynhild’s brother, King Atli Budlason, then married Gudrun, the widow of Sigurd. He invited Gunnar and Hogni to visit him but they feared for their gold and buried it in the riverbed of the River Rhine. It is there to this day and nobody has ever found it. King Atli Budlason fought and captured Gunnar and Hogni. He cut Hogni’s heart from his living body and threw Gunnar into a snake pit. His hands were tied but he played his harp with his toes to lull the snakes to sleep. But one snake did no
t sleep and bit and killed him. This is why gold is sometimes called ‘Niflungs’ treasure’, for Gunnar and Hogni were of the family of the Niflungs, and they had become the owners of the gold-hoard of Fafnir.

  The killing of Gunnar and Hogni left their sister, Gudrun, bitter towards King Atli Budlason, her husband. In revenge, she killed her two sons by King Atli Budlason and fashioned cups out of their skulls. The outside of each skull she adorned with silver and gold. She placed mead in these skull-cups and mixed it with the boys’ blood. Then she served it to her husband along with the boys’ hearts that she had cooked. After the king had drunk the blood of his own sons and eaten their hearts, Gudrun told him what she had done with many bitter words. However, the mead was so strong that everyone in the hall fell asleep over the mead-tables and that night Gudrun killed King Atli Budlason and set fire to his hall. So died Atli (Attila) and his Hun nobles.

  After this, Gudrun tried to drown herself in the sea but was washed ashore on the coast of Denmark, where she was found and married by King Ionakr. They had three sons and, like all the Niflungs, they had raven-black hair. In Denmark, Gudrun had with her the beautiful Svanhild, the child of Sigurd. She was chosen to be the bride of King Iormunrekk the Great, who some call Eormenric, of the Ostrogoths. But when he sent his son to fetch her, he and Svanhild decided to marry each other instead of Svanhild marrying old King Iormunrekk. When King Iormunrekk heard of this he had his son executed and Svanhild trampled to death under the hooves of his horses and the horses of his nobles.

  When Gudrun heard that her daughter had been killed, she sent her three sons to kill King Iormunrekk but they fell out among themselves and two of them murdered the third because he was the favourite of their mother. When they reached King Iormunrekk, they cut off his arms and legs but, without their brother to assist them, they did not cut off his head and so his head alerted his men who stoned the two brothers to death. And so died the sons of Gudrun.

  Gold described as ‘Frodi’s flour’

  There was once a son of Odin by the name of Skiold. He lived in a place then known as Gotland but now called Denmark. His grandson was named Frodi. When Frodi became king, Augustus was emperor of Rome and it was during this time that Christ was born. Frodi was a powerful king who brought peace to the northern lands, which people referred to as ‘Frodi’s peace’. Nobody killed another, even if they had the right to exact vengeance; and a gold ring could lie on the ground and not be picked up. One day, Frodi went to Sweden to visit its king and while he was there he purchased two strong female slaves. He set them to work on a huge set of millstones that had been found in Denmark and which would grind out whatever was ordered from them. Now, Frodi ordered ‘gold’ and ‘peace’ but the overworked slave girls ground out an army and Frodi was killed when a sea-king (a Viking) came against him. This sea-king took the millstones and the slave girls and ordered them to grind out salt, but so much was produced that his ships sank and that is how the sea became salty. It was after that grinding of the millstones that gold is sometimes called ‘Frodi’s flour’ for, had he succeeded, the slaves would have ground him out sacks of gold in the same way that flour is usually produced.

  Gold described as ‘Kraki’s seed’

  There was once a king of Denmark known as Hrolf Kraki (meaning ‘long-faced Hrolf’). While he was king, the ruler of Uppsala in Sweden was King Adils, who had married the mother of Hrolf Kraki. He was at war with the king of Norway. They had agreed to meet in battle on the ice of Lake Vaeni and so King Adils called on Hrolf Kraki to support him. Now Hrolf Kraki himself was engaged in a war with the Saxons to the south and could not answer the summons himself but, instead, he sent twelve of his berserkers. In the event the battle led to the death of the Norwegian king and the berserkers asked for the pay that they had been promised by King Adils, along with treasure for their king, Hrolf Kraki. But King Adils refused any payment and those warriors left him feeling very angry.

  When Hrolf Kraki heard of this, he gathered his army and sailed to Sweden. He and his berserkers rode to Uppsala where they were greeted by the mother of Hrolf Kraki. She took them to a hall where they were given drink and great fires were built for them. But the men of King Adils heaped so much wood on the fires that they threatened to burn Hrolf Kraki and his men. But Hrolf Kraki was unafraid and actually added to the fires by throwing his shield onto the flames and his warriors did likewise. Then they took the Swedish retainers and threw them onto the fire too.

  After this, the mother of Hrolf Kraki gave him much gold and told him that he should go. They did so, but were pursued by King Adils and his army. To divert them, Hrolf Kraki scattered gold on the ground in the same way that a farmer scatters seed and the Swedish soldiers dismounted to pick it up. But King Adils continued to pursue the Danish king and his warriors until Hrolf Kraki threw a gold ring to the ground and King Adils bent down to pick it up on the point of his spear. At this, Hrolf Kraki mocked him and said that, though he was greatest among the Swedes, he had grovelled like a pig to get the gold ring. And this is why gold is sometimes called ‘Kraki’s seed’.

  Other names for gold

  Gold is also known in poetry as ‘fire of the arm’, since it glows in warriors’ arm rings; and ‘fire of ice’, since it can be white; and ‘Rhine’s red metal’, recalling how it was hidden in that great river. In a similar way, gold is associated with noble people in various ways, such as calling a man ‘gold-breaker’, because a warrior shatters the gold ornaments of his enemies; and ‘gold-prince’, because kings reward warriors with gold. A woman may be called ‘gold-dealer’, because a high-born woman will reward warriors with gold; and ‘sun-pillar’, for gold shines like the sun and a woman stands slender and fine like the pillar in a hall; and ‘coin-oak’, for coins may be made of precious gold (given in reward by a high-born lady) and, like an oak, a noble woman stands fair and tall.

  12

  The sayings of Odin

  THESE SAYINGS EXPLORE what, in pre-Christian Norse society, constituted ‘wisdom’. This relates to human wisdom, the use of runes, mysteries and spells. Many of these refer to the advice and conventions that dictated behaviour in the lord’s hall or between neighbours. Others, though, refer to matters of religion, belief and mythology. These are the ones recounted here. These are found in the collection of traditions known as the Poetic Edda.

  Wisdom poetry is written throughout the Poetic Edda in a form called in Old Norse ljodahattr (literally: song-metre), which consists of stanzas in two sections, with each composed of a long line with four stresses and up to three alliterative syllables, and a shorter line with two stresses and two alliterative syllables. It was a form reserved for wisdom and dialogue poetry. Poems within the Poetic Edda do not have to necessarily conform to just one of the forms and styles of verse. This means that while there are whole poems within the Edda that are solely composed in ljodahattr, there are others that contain only sections of gnomic observations (consisting of short maxims or aphorisms).

  Odin, as the Norse god of wisdom, is a tie that binds all the wisdom poetry in the Poetic Edda together. It is Odin who instructs Sigurd in battle omens in the poem called Regin’s Sayings. He also displays his compendious knowledge in Grimnir’s Sayings, when he disguises himself in order to test the giant Geirrod and ultimately to teach him the true meaning of wisdom. It is only after he has imparted this knowledge that he reveals himself to Geirrod. Within the collection known as The Sayings of the High One (examples are given below), it is the figure of Odin who unifies the poem and draws together all the separate strands of wisdom. It is the appearance of Odin halfway through the poem that provides the identification of a narrative voice and adds validity to the wisdom that has preceded it. Wisdom is portrayed in the poetry as Odin’s gift to mankind and, as such, his presence as the originator and original acquirer of wisdom is felt throughout all of the wisdom poetry in the Poetic Edda.

  Wisdom poetry has no prescribed form, no narrative or chronological principle, and the collection
s of sayings (gnomes) are linked by theme. These poems are often not progressive but rather pick up a theme, explore it and then move on. The themes discussed include a wide range encompassing drunkenness, folly, moderation in food and drink, the behaviour of foolish men, mockery, friendship, limitations of wisdom, wealth and women.

  * * *

  Odin speaks of how he gained the mead of poetry

  I once visited the old giant and have since returned from there.

  Keeping quiet there did me no good, so I spoke out and there

  in Suttung’s hall I gained things to my advantage.

  I was given by Gunnlod a drink of rare and precious mead.

  She gave it to me from her golden throne.

  She was generous to me but got little back in return.

  I bored my way into the mountain to find where Gunnlod lived.

  I risked my head when I slipped through that passageway,