Sagas and Myths of the Northmen Read online

  ‘As these events occur, Heimdall stands up and blows the Gjallarhorn with all his strength. He wakens all the gods, who then hold an assembly. Odin now rides to Mimir’s Well, seeking Mimir’s counsel for both himself and his followers. The ash Yggdrasil shakes, and nothing, whether in heaven or on earth, is without fear.

  ‘The Æsir and all the Einherjar dress for war and advance on to the field. Odin rides in front of them. He wears a gold helmet and a magnificent coat of mail, and he carries his spear called Gungnir. He goes against the Fenriswolf with Thor advancing at his side. Thor will be unable to assist Odin, because he will have his hands full fighting the Midgard Serpent. Frey will fight against Surt, and it will be a fierce exchange before Frey falls. His death will come about because he lacks the good sword, the one that he gave to Skirnir. By now the hound Garm, who was bound in front of Gnipahellir, will also have broken free. He, the worst of monsters, will fight against Tyr. They will be each other’s death.

  ‘Thor will kill the Midgard Serpent, and then he will step back nine feet. Because of the poison the serpent spits on him, he will fall to the earth, dead. The wolf will swallow Odin, and that will be his death. But immediately afterwards Vidar will stride forward and thrust one of his feet into the lower jaw of the wolf. He wears on that foot the shoe that has been assembled through the ages by collecting the extra pieces that people cut away from the toes and heels when fashioning their shoes. Thus those who want to help the Æsir should throw these extra pieces away. With one hand he takes hold of the wolf’s upper jaw and rips apart its mouth, and this will be the wolf’s death. Loki will battle with Heimdall, and they will be the death of each other. Next Surt will throw fire over the earth and burn the whole world.’

  [ … ]

  The Theft of Idunn and Her Apples

  Bragi began his storytelling by saying that three of the Æsir – Odin, Loki and Hoenir – were once travelling from home and crossed mountains and deserts, where they found little food. When coming down into a valley they saw a herd of oxen and, taking one, they began to cook it. When they thought the meat was ready, they broke open the cooking pit, but found the ox was not cooked. A while later, when for the second time they broke open the cooking pit, the meat was still raw. As they began asking each other what could be the cause, they heard a voice coming from above in an oak tree under which they were standing. The one who was sitting up in the tree said that he was causing the food to remain uncooked in the oven. Looking up they saw an eagle sitting there, and it was not small.

  The eagle said, ‘If you are willing to give me my fill of the ox, the pit will cook.’

  They agreed to this. Then the eagle glided down from the tree and landed on the pit. The first thing it did was to eat the ox’s two thighs and both of its shoulders. This angered Loki, who picked up a large stick and, swinging with all his might, struck the eagle. Recoiling from the blow the eagle started to fly, but one end of the pole was stuck fast to the eagle’s body, with Loki hanging on to the other end.

  The eagle flew so low that Loki’s feet were dragged on the ground, striking stones, gravel and trees, and he thought his arms would be pulled from their sockets. He called out, begging the eagle for mercy, but the bird answered that Loki would not be saved unless he swore an oath that he would find a way to lure Idunn, with her apples [of youth], out of Asgard. When Loki agreed, he was set free and returned to his companions. Nothing else is said to have occurred during that trip before they reached home. At the time agreed upon, Loki tricked Idunn into leaving Asgard and going into the forest with him. He told her that he had found apples that she would find to be of great worth and asked her to bring along her apples so that she might compare them. Just then the giant Thjazi arrived in the shape of an eagle and, seizing Idunn, he flew off with her to his home in Thrymheim.

  Idunn’s disappearance badly affected the Æsir, and they soon began to grow old and grey. The Æsir gathered together in an assembly and asked one another the news of Idunn. They realized that she had last been seen leaving Asgard with Loki. Then Loki was seized and brought to the assembly, where he was threatened with torture or death. When he grew frightened, he said he would go into Giant Land to find Idunn if Freyja would lend him her falcon shape.

  Loki Retrieves Idunn from the Giant Thjazi

  When Loki got hold of the falcon shape, he flew north into Giant Land. He arrived at Thjazi’s on a day when the giant had rowed out to sea, so Idunn was home alone. Loki changed her into the shape of a nut and, holding her in his claws, flew away as fast as he could. When Thjazi returned home and found Idunn missing, he put on his eagle shape and flew after Loki, the air booming with the sound of the eagle’s flight. When the Æsir saw the falcon flying with the nut and the eagle in pursuit, they went outside to the walls of Asgard, carrying piles of wood shavings. As the falcon flew in over the fortress, it dived down alongside the fortress wall, and at that moment the Æsir set fire to the wood shavings. But the eagle, having just missed the falcon, was unable to stop himself before his feathers caught fire, and he fell from the air. The Æsir who were nearby killed the giant Thjazi inside the gate of Asgard, and this slaying is very famous.

  Skadi Seeks Vengeance for Her Father

  Now Skadi, daughter of the giant Thjazi, put on her helmet and coat of mail and, taking all her weapons of war, set out for Asgard to avenge her father. But the Æsir offered to reconcile and proposed compensation. First she should choose a husband for herself from among the Æsir, but she might choose only from the feet of the man, seeing nothing else. She saw that the feet of one man were especially beautiful and said ‘I choose that one; few things on Baldr will be ugly.’ But that was Njord from Noatun.

  Another condition of her settlement was that the Æsir must do something she thought they could not do: make her laugh. Then Loki tied one end of a cord to the beard of a goat and tied the other end around his own testicles. The goat and Loki started pulling back and forth, each squealing loudly until finally Loki fell into Skadi’s lap, and then she laughed. With this, the Æsir concluded their part of the settlement with her.

  It is said that Odin, to compensate her further, took Thjazi’s eyes and cast them up into the heavens, where he made from them two stars.

  The Inheritance of the Giants

  Then Ægir said, ‘Thjazi seems to me to have been exceptionally powerful, but what are his origins?’

  Bragi answered, ‘Olvaldi was the name of Thjazi’s father, and if I were to tell you about him, you would find it a remarkable story. He had great wealth in gold, and when he died his sons were to divide the inheritance. In dividing the gold, they measured their shares by each taking the same number of mouthfuls in turn. One of them was Thjazi, the second Idi, and the third was Gang. From this story comes the expression whereby gold is referred to as the mouth count of these giants. We conceal this reference to gold in cryptic speech or poetic allusions by referring to it as the speech or the words or the count of these giants.’

  Then Ægir said, ‘It seems to me that this story is well hidden in secret lore.’