Origin Story
PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO. IT IS NOT OVERLY LONG AND SETS THE SCENE FOR THESE TALES.
To the Vikings, it all began with Ginnungagap, “the Yawning Void,” a placeless place that was emptiness, yet contained a kind of magical potential – a sense that something was going to happen, that something would come into being. At one end of Ginnungagap lies Muspelheim, “home of the fiery end,” which was tremendously hot and filled with fire and spilling sparks and smoke into the void. At the other end was Niflheim, “the mist world,” filled with clouds, vapor, frost and ice. We do not know if these two worlds came into being after Ginnungagap, or before, or just were.
As the clouds, frost, sparks, and smoke interact in Ginnungagap (Dr. Neil Price says some accounts also have mysterious rivers of no particular origin spilling into that void), they produce a thick, massive mist, and out of this mist steps Ymir (OO-mir) the giant, formed from the venom of the icy, mysterious rivers.
You may wonder, what on earth did the giant have to eat and drink? Fortunately for Ymir, the second being is soon created – the hornless one, full of milk. Auðumbla the cow appears and Ymir sustains himself on her milk. That’s great, you say. What did the cow eat?
Duh! The cow licked the ice and rime that formed from Niflheim. And you know how it is when a horse licks a salt lick or a cow licks the ice, right? Her tongue gradually eroded away the ice and revealed that there was something inside the ice. And eventually something steps out of the ice: the first of the Gods, the Æsir. His name is Búri.
And that’s about all we know about him except that somehow he had a son named Borr. No idea how, or who or what with, if anything. For Borr, we have a few more specifics: Borr, the Æsir, mated with the giant Bestla. They had three sons: Vili, Vé and Oðinn (Odin). You got that, right? Because this is important later: Odin is the son of an Æsir father and a giant mother! We will return to this in future diaries ...
Odin, Vili and Vé got bored, as kids were wont to do before the invention of smartphones and tablets. So, like any other kids, they got together, and killed Ymir and carved him up and used his bits to make the Viking universe:
"Out of Ymir's flesh was fashioned the earth,
And the mountains were made of his bones;
The sky from the frost cold giant's skull,
And the ocean out of his blood."
Vafþrúðnir
Now that they had this whole world to explore, their boredom lifted, and they went for a little beach stroll and came upon some driftwood. They had a sense that there was something there, so they took the wood and from it they shaped the first man and woman: Askr and Embla. We know Askr translates to Ash, as in the tree. Embla is harder – a case has been made for elm, vine and ‘busy woman,’ but all of these translations have issues.
Now, if you were to ask a Jewish person in 100 BC who the Jewish people were, it is not unreasonable to assume that they might answer that they are the children of Adam and Eve. In fact, I have coworkers in Texas today in 2016 who absolutely believe they are the children of Adam and Eve (and since my coworkers have access to science and the information derived thereof, I refer to those coworkers as morons).
So who were the Vikings? It is quite likely that in their minds they were the children of Ash and Embla. Asked by a Christian or Muslim to tell where they came from, some variation of the above is what they would have related. This was not something they questioned; this was how the average person in the Viking world understood the world around them to be. They did not have Viking myths – this was the world as they understood it. I’m sorry to be repetitive but it is critical to understand that this is their cognitive landscape. Nobody and nothing had given them data to contradict this.
Cosmos
One of many, many, many illustrations of the Norse cosmos. Wheaton. 1844 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
A lot of people believe the Viking cosmology has nine worlds, and there are popular necklaces and t-shirts with three interlocked triangles to symbolize this. Well, yes and no. Depending on the sources you read and the interpretation of the sources, there are nine worlds or … a hell of a lot more; under the earth, in the sky, possibly even in the waters. There is no definitive version of Viking mythology. As an oral tradition, it changed, evolved, and we only see a bit of it.
Our world, the human world, was Midgard, the middle place. The home of the Gods was Asgard, which will have to wait for another diary because there is a lot to discuss with the realm of the Gods. For the moment, the important thing to know is that the connection between Midgard and Asgard was Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge.
Jõtunheimar was the world where the giants lived, and was situated in the North. Interestingly, there is a place called Jõtunheimen in modern Norway – a cold, icy, mountainous place. Utgarðr lay in the East, and was a dark, shadowy place filled with evil spirits, malefic powers and trolls and things like that. It seems as though this colored the entire view of the East from a Viking perspective. It pervades their stories, and expeditions to the East appear to have special significance as compared to voyages in the West. Going West was a journey; going East was an adventure. Finding Iceland, Greenland and Vinland (Canada) was pretty nifty, but not spectacular. Going East and living to tell the tale was special; several monuments are erected to those who do not survive the journey.
The Gripsholm Runestone commemorates Scandinavians who died in the expedition of Ingvar the Far-Travelled in 1041.
Underneath Midgard was Hel, and this was a realm of the dead. As in, the Vikings had many realms of the dead, and this was one of them. It is not clear at all if the name Hel is in any way related to the Christian Hell, but it is clear that the name is related to Hel, the Goddess of this underworld (she was one of many of the Gods/Goddesses of the dead). Below Hel lay Niflhel, the nine underworlds (you start to see how there are more than nine worlds here). We will hear a great deal more about Hel and it’s mistress, Hel, in future diaries.
Connecting all of this is Yggdrasil, the World Tree, also to be discussed at length in the future.
Midgard and Its Inhabitants
Humans were far from being the only toolmaking, intelligent, speaking beings with a complex culture in Midgard. Vikings were not alone; far from it. But these beings were not viewed as supernatural; rather they were simply a different part of the natural world.
As with most things related to Vikings, this is a complex and confusing topic. For example, it can be argued that some of these beings are simply subcategories of others of these beings. Also, many of these beings have meaning in modern Asatru and Odinism (the modern practice of the Norse faiths). The good news is that I don’t know Jack about either Asatru or Odinism, and so hopefully my writing will be free of modern interpretations.
Vættir
Rare photo of some Swedish vættir in their natural environment, the burial mounds of Gamla Uppsala, Sweden. What, you don’t see them? Look to the left. That is their magical moving van.
The most common were the vættir, the nature or land spirits. In fact, a case can be made that ALL beings other than living humans are vættir of some sort including Gods, Giants and on and on. For the purposes of this diary however, I am classifying them separately. The vættir are literally everywhere, in rocks, trees, water, sky, in the household and the animals. They may be tied to or associated with specific places.
The vættir were encountered, interacted with, and their presence experienced daily by the Vikings. The scale of this interaction varied from the mundane to the greatest of endeavors. Cows didn’t have milk? You may have pissed off the vættir. Planning to invade another country? Better scout out what spirits you have to deal with before doing so.
In The Book of Settlements (Landnámabók), which tells of the initial settlements in Iceland and the first settlers, there is a great description of an interaction with a vættir:
“Bjorn dreamed one night that a rock-dweller came to him and made an offer of partnership and he thought he accepted it; whereupon a he-goat (hafr) came to his goats, and his flocks then bred so quickly that he was speedily rolling in riches; thence he was called Hegoat –(Hafr) Bjorn (or Bjorn of the he-goat). Men who had the power of second sight saw that all the guardian spirits of the land followed Hegoat-Bjorn to the Thing, and that they accompanied Thorstein and Thord in hunting and fishing.”
Book of the Settlement of Iceland. Translated by Rev. T. Ellwood. Fourth Part, Chapter XII.
So in the Viking mind, relationships with the vættir are tremendously important. They can bring wealth and fortune; they can also inflict misery and misfortune. In the same Book of Settlements, it is revealed that having an open-mouthed dragon’s head on the prow of your ship as you approached Iceland was illegal, lest it upset or frighten the vættir.
How powerful are the vættir? Possibly powerful enough to drive away an unwanted King and Queen:
“And when all was ready for sailing, Egil went up into the island. He took in his hand a hazel-pole, and went to a rocky eminence that looked inward to the mainland. Then he took a horse’s head and fixed it on the pole. After that, in solemn form of curse, he thus spake: ’Here set I up a curse-pole, and this curse I turn on king Eric and queen Gunnhilda. (Here he turned the horse’s head landwards.) This curse I turn also on the guardian-spirits who dwell in this land, that they may all wander astray, nor reach or find their home till they have driven out of the land king Eric and Gunnhilda.’
This spoken, he planted the pole down in a rift of the rock, and let it stand there. The horse’s head he turned inwards to the mainland; but on the pole he cut runes, expressing the whole form of curse.” (bold is my emphasis)
Egil’s Saga. Translated by W.C. Green. Chapter 62 – Egil’s Voyage to England.
Sacrifices and offerings are made to the vættir. It is unfortunately impossible to know in an archeological context whether this pile of bones, or coins and other objects found in a group were offered to the Gods, the vættir or what the specific significance is.
Before we leave the vættir, I’m wondering if any of you have an elderly horse about to pass, or a hazel pole I could borrow? It’s for a friend who has some kind of political leader they really disapprove of… oh, and I, er, he, does not need the whole horse… the bit above the shoulders will do. Thanks!
Álfar
Ängsälvor 1850, Fairies dancing in a meadow at twilight. Nils Blommér [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Not really sure if Vikings saw Elves this way, but these had on more clothing than most I found via Google search.
The elves, or Álfar, (who may also be vættir) are at least as complex. Belief in Álfar extends far back into Germanic and Norse beliefs, and distinguishing what makes the Álfar of the Norse Vikings different from the Álfar of the Roman era Cimbri and Teutones is well beyond this piece. Suffice it to say, people have believed in elves long before the Vikings and still do today. For the peoples of the Viking Period in the Viking sphere of influence, some brief generalizations may be made:
- Scandinavian textual evidence for elves is poor. Icelandic evidence is immense.
- Elves have magical powers
- Elves are very attractive
- Elves have some sort of association with the Gods, especially Freyr, who may have control of the Elf World (at least that’s what it says in Grímnismál)
- Elves are into sex with humans
- Humans are into sex with elves. And the kids are pretty attractive too (The Saga of Thorstein).
- Goddesses may well be into sex with elves also. In Lokasenna, a poem in the Poetic Edda, the God Loki mocks Freyja by accusing her of having sex with every elf (and Æsir) in Asgard — which sounds to me like a healthy woman in charge of her own sexuality, but obviously Loki has an issue with it.
- Tolkien liked the elves from both Norse and Germanic sources, but cleaned up a bit of the earthiness.
- People made sacrifices and offerings to the elves which included animal blood.
Dvergr
The Dwarf Regin and the hero Sigurd with the broken sword, Gram. Notice, Regin is the same size as Sigurd. This is a woodcarving from a surviving door panel of a 13th century stave church.
Ahh, my favorite: the dwarves; rather handily Norse mythology provides us with a (partial) Catalog of Dwarves. Let’s see if you Tolkien fans recognize any names:
There was Motsognir the mightiest made
Of all the dwarfs, and Durin next;
Many a likeness of men they made,
The dwarfs in the earth, as Durin said.
Nyi and Nithi, Northri and Suthri,
Austri and Vestri, Althjof, Dvalin,
Nar and Nain, Niping, Dain,
Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Nori,
An and Onar, Ai, Mjothvitnir.
Vigg and Gandalf, Vindalf, Thrain,
Thekk and Thorin, Thror, Vit and Lit,
Nyr and Nyrath, now have I told
Regin and Rathsvith the list aright.
Fili, Kili, Fundin, Nali,
Heptifili, Hannar, Sviur,
Frar, Hornbori, Fræg and Loni,
Aurvang, Jari, Eikinskjaldi.
The race of the dwarfs in Dvalin's throng
Down to Lofar the list must I tell;
The rocks they left, and through wet lands
They sought a home in the fields of sand.
There were Draupnir and Dolgthrasir,
Hor, Haugspori, Hlevang, Gloin,
Dori, Ori, Duf, Andvari,
Skirfir, Virfir, Skafith, Ai.
Alf and Yngvi, Eikinskjaldi,
Fjalar and Frosti, Fith and Ginnar;
So for all time shall the tale be known,
The list of all the forbears of Lofar.
Poetic Edda, Völuspá
To many, the most interesting thing about Dwarves in Norse mythology is this: there is no mention of how big or small, tall or short they are. The idea of short dwarves appears to be a creation of the post-Viking world. For all we know, dwarves towered over puny men and given that the Dwarves names names include Fullangr ('tall enough') and Hár ('high'), maybe they did!
To me the most interesting thing about dwarves is – they are the makers. The association with dwarves and blacksmiths is ancient. It is probably no mistake that many known Iron Age blacksmithing sites in Norway are in caves. Oðinn’s spear Gungnir which can strike any target? Made in Dwarfistan. Gold rings that magically reproduce? Dwarves. Boats that you can fold and put in your pocket? Super Dwarfy! A hammer so mighty that only the strongest of all the Gods can wield it? Dwarfalicious! A cord to restrain an ungodly wolf? Oh, that was the Gods, not the dwarves… WAIT!! The Gods blew it twice and the wolf broke the restraints. Only the Dwarves come through!! Dwarfgasm!!
So Dwarves can be very helpful; turns out they are pretty darn wise too; wise enough to brew the Mead of Poetry for which Oðinn will go to great lengths to get.
So what do the Dwarves want in return for all this? Hint: remember, these are Scandinavian tales…
Yep, sex. Preferably with the Goddesses. Most often with Freyja. I wonder if they kept their socks on like in the Scandinavian porn of the 70’s…
Although Dwarves had many, many dealings with the Gods, do not view them as remote from humanity. Dr. Neil Price states there is some good evidence of cultic activity aimed at the Dwarves (I have not found this in my research, so I am repeating his offhand comment from the Cornell lectures in my sources). There are hints that human blacksmiths attempted to place themselves inside the sphere of influence of the Dwarves. And as always, there is the ambiguity – did Dwarves overlap with Elves? Are they one and the same? After all, the name Gandalf means “magical Elf” and he was supposedly a dwarf!
Summary
So this is the world through which the Vikings moved, and these were the things – other than other people, non-metaphysical animal and plants – with which they interacted as they went about their daily routine. And it is easy, sitting here at a computer with the world’s knowledge at my fingertips, to feel superior to these men and women. On the other hand, would I have the courage to cross an ocean to an unknown fate? Could I, were I a woman, survive burying two or three children younger than the age of five? How would I cope with choices like sunup to sundown labor or running towards a wall of spears and shields held by my enemies?
Think about it before you dismiss the people of the past as dumb. I think they were smart, hardworking, courageous and resourceful… and more than a little bit alien.
Next Installment: Gods and Giants.
Index of Series and List of Sources At End of This Diary (Updated as we go): Vikings: Who the Hel Were They?
Final note: if decapitated horses upset you, hold your… er, um, keep your eyes out for warnings about gore and violence in future diaries.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a historian, archeologist, linguist, or academic of any stripe. I’m just a dude who does blacksmithing, and has an obsession with swords, spears and axes, Bronze Age through Viking Period Europe. However, I have had the distinct privilege of visiting many museums in Europe, reading many of the original archeological papers, and speaking to several archeologists who specialize in Anglo-Saxon, Viking, and Early Medieval Culture in both the United States and Europe. I WILL make mistakes and am open to correction – but I do ask for citations so that I may read/listen/view and learn.
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