Sagas and Myths of the Northmen Page 9

  Hjalti answered, ‘It is not possible to bend fate, nor can one stand against nature.’ At this point they ceased their talk.

  The Death of King Hrolf Kraki

  King Hrolf defended himself well, fighting resolutely and with more courage than has been told of any man. He was attacked relentlessly, and a select company of King Hjorvard’s and Skuld’s warriors formed a ring around him. Skuld now entered into the fray. She fiercely incited her rabble to attack King Hrolf, because she saw that the champions were no longer close beside him. Bodvar Bjarki sorely grieved that he was unable to assist his lord. The other champions felt the same regret. All of them were now as willing to die with King Hrolf as they had been to live with him, when they were in the full vigour of their youth.

  By now all of the king’s bodyguard had fallen. Not one of them was left standing, and most of the champions were mortally wounded.

  ‘And events turned out as expected,’ said Master Galterus. ‘Human strength cannot withstand such fiendish power, unless the strength of God is employed against it. That alone stood between you and victory, King Hrolf,’ said the Master; ‘you had no knowledge of your Creator.’

  Such a storm of enchantments now descended upon them that the champions began to fall, one across the other. King Hrolf managed to emerge from behind the shield wall, but he was nearly dead from exhaustion. There is no need to draw out the tale. King Hrolf fell gloriously, together with all his champions. They made so much of a slaughter there that words alone are inadequate to describe it. King Hjorvard and all his army fell, save only a few shirkers who, together with Skuld, were still on their feet.

  Skuld took all of King Hrolf ’s realm under her power, but she ruled poorly and for only a short time. Elk-Frodi set out to avenge his brother Bodvar Bjarki as he had promised to do. He was joined by King Thorir Hound’s Foot, as is told in Elk-Frodi’s tale. The brothers were supported by a strong contingent sent from the Swedish kingdom by Queen Yrsa, and men say that Vogg served as the commander. All of these forces sailed for Denmark, and Skuld was taken by surprise. They seized and held her in such a way that she was prevented from working any witchcraft. They killed all of her rabble and tortured her in different ways. The kingdoms returned to the rule of King Hrolf ’s daughters. When all this had been accomplished, everyone went home.

  A burial mound was raised for King Hrolf, and the sword Skofnung was laid in the mound with him. A mound was raised for each of the champions, and they likewise were buried with their weapons.

  And here ends the saga of King Hrolf Kraki and his champions.

  The Prose Edda

  Niflheim and Muspellsheim

  Gangleri asked, ‘What was the beginning, or how did things start? What was there before?’

  High answered, ‘As it says in The Sibyl’s Prophecy:

  Early of ages

  when nothing was.

  There was neither sand nor sea

  nor cold waves.

  The earth was not found

  nor the sky above.

  Ginnungagap was there,

  but grass, nowhere.’

  Next Just-as-High said, ‘Niflheim [Dark World] was made many ages before the earth was created, and at its centre is the spring called Hvergelmir [Roaring Kettle]. From there flow those rivers called Svol, Gunnthra, Fjorm, Fimbulthul, Slid and Hrid, Sylg and Ylg, Vid and Leiptr. Also there is Gjoll, which lies next to Helgrind [Gates of Hel].’

  Then Third said, ‘First, however, there was that world in the southern region which is called Muspell. It is bright and hot. That region flames and burns and is impassable for foreigners and those who cannot claim it as their native land. Surt [Black One] is the name of he who waits there at the land’s edge to defend it. He has a flaming sword, and when the end of the world comes, he will set off to battle and defeat all the gods, burning the whole world with fire. So it is said in The Sibyl’s Prophecy:

  Surt comes from the south

  with the fiery destruction of branches.

  The sun shines from the sword

  of the gods of the slain.

  Stone cliffs tumble

  and troll witches stumble.

  Men tread the Road to Hel

  as the sky splits apart.’

  Ginnungagap and the Emergence of Ymir

  Gangleri asked: ‘How were things set up before the different families came into being and mankind increased?’

  High replied, ‘When those rivers, which are called Elivagar [Storm Waves], came so far from their source, the poisonous flow hardened like a slag of cinders running from a furnace, and became ice. When this ice began to solidify and no longer ran, poisonous drops spewed out and froze into icy rime [hoar-frost]. Then layer by layer, the ice grew within Ginnungagap.’

  Then Just-as-High said, ‘That part of Ginnungagap, which reached into the northern regions, became filled with thick ice and rime. Inside the gap there was mist and wind-whipped rain. But the southern part of Ginnungagap grew light because of sparks and glowing embers flowing from Muspellsheim.’

  Then Third spoke: ‘Just as coldness and all things grim came from Niflheim, the regions bordering on Muspell were warm and bright, and Ginnungagap was as mild as a windless sky. It thawed and dripped at the point where the icy rime and the warm winds met. There was a quickening in these flowing drops and life sprang up, taking its force from the power that sent the heat. The likeness of a man appeared and he was named Ymir. The frost giants call him Aurgelmir, and from him come the clans of the frost giants, as it says in The Shorter Sibyl’s Prophecy:

  All the seeresses are

  from Vidolf,

  all the wizards

  from Vilmeid,

  but the sorcerers are

  from Svarthofdi

  and all the giants

  come from Ymir.

  ‘Here as the giant Vafthrudnir says:

  From where Aurgelmir first came,

  the wise giant,

  among sons of giants.

  When poison from Elivagar

  splashed out in drops

  it grew until forming a giant,

  from there all our clans

  have come;

  therefore they are all so cruel.’

  Then Gangleri asked, ‘How did the families grow from that point or how did it come about that others came into being? And do you believe that the one whom you were just talking about is a god?’

  High answered: ‘In no way do we accept him as a god. He was evil, as are all his descendants; we call them frost giants. It is said that as he slept he took to sweating. Then, from under his left arm grew a male and a female, while one of his legs got a son with the other. From here came the clans that are called the frost giants. The old frost giant, him we call Ymir.’

  The Primeval Cow Audhumla, Ymir and the Birth of Odin

  Gangleri asked, ‘Where did Ymir live, and what did he live on?’

  ‘Next it happened that as the icy rime dripped, the cow called Audhumla was formed. Four rivers of milk ran from her udders, and she nourished Ymir.’

  Then Gangleri asked, ‘On what did the cow feed?’

  High replied, ‘She licked the blocks of ice, which were salty. As she licked these stones of icy rime the first day, the hair of a man appeared in the blocks towards the evening. On the second day came the man’s head, and on the third day, the whole man. He was called Buri, and he was beautiful, big and strong. He had a son called Bor, who took as his wife the woman called Bestla. She was the daughter of Bolthorn the giant, and they had three sons. One was called Odin, another Vili and the third Ve. It is my belief that this Odin and his brothers are the rulers of heaven and earth. We know that is his name, and it is what we call the one whom we know to be the greatest and the most renowned, and you too can easily call him that.’

  Bergelmir and the Appearance of the Second Race of Frost Giants

  Then Gangleri asked, ‘How did they get on together? Who among them was the most powerful?’

  ‘The s
ons of Bor killed the giant Ymir,’ answered High. ‘When he fell, so much blood gushed from his wounds that with it they drowned all the race of the frost giants except for one who escaped with his household. The giants call that one Bergelmir. He, together with his wife, climbed up on to his wooden box, and there they kept themselves safe. From them come the races of the frost giants, as is said here:

  Countless winters

  before the earth was created

  back then Bergelmir was born;

  that is the first I remember

  when the wise giant

  was placed on the box.’

  The World is Created from Ymir’s Body

  Gangleri answered, ‘What did Bor’s sons do next, if you believe they are gods?’

  High said, ‘It is no small matter to be told. They took Ymir and they moved him into the middle of Ginnungagap and made from him the world. From his blood they made the sea and the lakes. The earth was fashioned from the flesh, and mountain cliffs from the bones. They made stones and gravel from the teeth, the molars and those bones that were broken.’

  Then Just-as-High said, ‘With the blood that gushed freely from the wounds, they made the sea, and by fashioning that sea around, they belted and fastened the earth. Most men would think it impossible to cross over this water.’

  Then Third added: ‘They also took his skull and from it made the sky. They raised it over the earth and under each of the four corners they placed a dwarf. These are called East, West, North and South. Then they took the embers and sparks shooting out from Muspellsheim and flying randomly. These they placed in the middle of the Ginnung Sky, both above and below, to light up heaven and earth. They fixed places for all these burning elements. Some were placed up in the heavens, whereas for others, which had moved about under the heavens, they found places and established their courses. It is said in the old sources that, from then on, times of day were differentiated and the course of years was set. So it is said in The Sibyl’s Prophecy:

  Sun did not know

  where she had her home.

  Moon did not know

  what strength he had.

  The stars did not know

  where their places were.

  ‘This was before the earth was created,’ Third added.

  Then Gangleri said, ‘I hear of great happenings. It was wondrous work and skilfully done, but how was the earth set in order?’

  Then High answered: ‘It is circular around the edge and surrounding it lies the deep sea. On these ocean coasts, the sons of Bor gave land to the clans of the giants to live on. But further inland they built a fortress wall around the world to protect against the hostility of the giants. As material for the wall, they used the eyelashes of the giant Ymir and called this stronghold Midgard [Middle Earth]. They took his brain, threw it up into the air, and from it they made the clouds. As is said here:

  From Ymir’s flesh

  was the earth created,

  from the bloody sweat, the sea,

  cliffs from bones,

  trees from hair,

  and from the head, the heavens;

  And from his eyelashes

  the gentle gods made

  Midgard for the sons of men;

  and from his brains

  all the oppressive

  clouds were formed.’

  Men are Created and Asgard is Built. The All-Father Sees Everything

  Then Gangleri said, ‘It seems to me that they accomplished great things when the earth and the sky were made, the sun and the moon set in their places and the days divided. But the people who inhabit the world, where did they come from?’

  Then High answered, ‘The sons of Bor were once walking along the seashore and found two trees. They lifted the logs and from them created people. The first son gave them breath and life; the second, intelligence and movement; the third, form, speech, hearing and sight. They [Bor’s sons] gave them clothing and names. The man was called Ask [Ash Tree] and the woman, Embla [Elm or Vine]. From them came mankind and they were given a home behind Midgard’s wall.’

  High said: ‘Next they made a stronghold for themselves in the middle of the world, and it was called Asgard. We call it Troy. There the gods lived together with their kinsmen, and as a result many events and happenings took place both on the earth and in the sky. One place there is called Hlidskjalf [Watchtower]. When Odin sat in its high seat, he could see through all worlds and into all men’s doings. Moreover, he understood everything he saw. His wife was called Frigg, Fjorgyn’s daughter, and from this family has come the kindred we call the family of the Æsir. They lived in Old Asgard and the realms that belong to it; each member of this family is divine. For these reasons he can be referred to as All-Father, since he is the father of all the gods and men and of everything that has been accomplished by his power. Earth was his daughter and his wife. With her he had his first son, and this is Asa-Thor [Thor of the Æsir]. He has strength and might, and because of this, he defeats all living creatures.’

  [ … ]

  The Ash Yggdrasil, the Norns and the Three Wells

  Then Gangleri said, ‘Where is the central or holy place of the gods?’

  High answered, ‘It is at the ash Yggdrasil. There each day the gods hold their courts.’

  Then Gangleri asked, ‘What is there to tell about that place?’

  Then Just-as-High said, ‘The ash is the largest and the best of all trees. Its branches spread themselves over all the world, and it stands over the sky. Three roots support the tree and they are spread very far apart. One is among the Æsir. A second is among the frost giants where Ginnungagap once was. The third reaches down to Niflheim, and under this root is the well Hvergelmir; but Nidhogg [Hateful Striker] gnaws at this root from below.

  ‘Under the root that goes to the frost giants is the Well of Mimir. Wisdom and intelligence are hidden there, and Mimir is the name of the well’s owner. He is full of wisdom because he drinks of the well from the Gjallarhorn. All-Father went there and asked for one drink from the well, but he did not get this until he gave one of his eyes as a pledge. As it says in The Sibyl’s Prophecy:

  Odin, I know all,

  where you hid the eye

  in that famous

  Well of Mimir.

  Each morning

  Mimir drinks mead

  from Val-Father’s pledge.

  Do you know now or what?

  ‘The third root of the ash is in heaven, and under that root is the very holy well called the Well of Urd. There the gods have their place of judgment. Every day the Æsir ride up over Bifrost, which is also called Asbru [Bridge of the Æsir]. The horses of the Æsir are named as follows: Sleipnir [Fast Traveller] is the best; Odin owns him, and he has eight legs. The second is Glad, the third Gyllir, the fourth Glaer, the fifth Skeidbrimir, the sixth Silfrtopp, the seventh Sinir, the eighth Gils, the ninth Falhofnir, the tenth Gulltopp and the eleventh is Lettfeti. Baldr’s horse was burned with him. Thor, however, walks to the court; wading those rivers named as follows:

  Kormt and Ormt

  and the two Kerlaugs,

  through these Thor will

  wade each day

  when he goes to judge

  at the ash Yggdrasil,

  because the bridge of the Æsir

  burns with fire –

  holy waters seethe.’

  Then Gangleri said, ‘Does fire burn over Bifrost?’

  High replied: ‘The red you see in the rainbow is the burning fire. The frost giants and the mountain giants would scale heaven if Bifrost could be travelled by all who wanted to do so. There are many beautiful places in heaven and everything is divinely protected. A handsome hall stands under the ash beside the well. Out of this hall come three maidens, who are called Urd [Fate], Verdandi [Becoming] and Skuld [Obligation]. These maidens shape men’s lives. We call them the norns. There are yet more norns, those who come to each person at birth to decide the length of one’s life, and these are related to the gods. Others are des
cended from the elves, and a third group comes from the dwarves, as is said here: