W.G.DAVEY: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Germanic peoples extend from Iceland in the north to present day Germany in the south. In earlier centuries they occupied the lands from the Baltic to the Black Sea and, when driven from these lands by the Huns, they entered the Roman Empire. They wandered through various Roman provinces and some even arrived in Northern Africa. After defeats and mixing with other peoples they effectively disappeared as a distinct people from other than the present lands in which they are found. Most of these movements took place in historical times, and the last great movement was the occupation of part of Britain by the Anglo-Saxon peoples of Denmark and Northern Germany.

We discuss seven sources but the diversity of the legends is less thatn we might expect since they seem to draw on a markedly common tradition and are mostly close re-telling of the same stories. And too, the coherent stories are mostly of Norse origin rather than a broader "Germanic" so that this account could be called "Norse Mythology" with little inaccuracy.

The seven sources are:

The Poetic or Elder Edda, composed by unknown Icelandic authors

The Prose or Younger Edda collected and written by Snorri Sturleson of Iceland

The Heimskringla, a history of Norway written by Snorri Sturleson

The Volsunga Saga, composed by an unknown Icelandic author

The Neiblungenlied, written by an unknown German or Austrian

The Historia Danica, a history of Denmark, written by Saxo Grammaticus of Denmark

The Teutonic Mythology of Jacob Grimm

The first, the Poetic Edda, is probably the oldest and consists of a series of 40 poems recounting the adventures of the gods. From the style it was probably written down between 800 and 1100 AD though the sources (probably oral) were older. They found their way to the Royal Library in Denmark and were discovered there by Archbishop Sveinsson in 1643.

The second and third were written by a remarkable man who was active in Icelandic and Norwegian affairs called Snorri Sturleson and who died a violent death. It is dated from about the the same time as the Poetic Edda, and contains much of the same content. The Heimskringla is basically a history of Norway and only the first part has a mythological portion which is of interest to us.

The fourth, the Volsunga Saga, also comes from Iceland and was written about 50 years after Snorri. It derives from the lays which constitute the last part of the Poetic Edda and recounts the conflict between the Volsung and Niflung families. The fifth, the Nieblungenlied is the German poetic version of the same tale and was written in Germany or Austria at about the same time.

The sixth source, the "Historia Danica" or "Gesta Danoram" is the history of Denmark written by Saxo Grammaticus in Denmark in about 1200 AD at the request of Archbishop Absalon. It suffered a chequered history since it was apparently mislaid and forgotten and was not published until 1514, and in Paris. The latter part is indeed a history, but it begins with an extensive account of mythology which probably comes from similar oral sources that led to the much better known Poetic and Prose Eddas. The mythological stories are similar to those in the Eddas in general, but there are significant differences; in the present writer’s opinion, Saxo deserves to be accorded similar standing to the better-known Eddas.

The seventh source is the compendium of mythology, folk-lore, and tradition contained in Jacob Grimm’s (one of the two Brothers Grimm) huge work published in 1844. The stories here are principally from Germanic sources.

Our full account discusses the content of all of the sources in some detail. The stories in most of the accounts are well known, but the first nine books of Saxo which relate to mythology are unlikely to be known to most readers. We will give an outline of some of the stories here.

To a large extent we are told of the quarrels, alliances, and adventures of the principal gods – Odin (earlier Woden and Gwoden), Thor, their spouses, and their offspring. These tales are usually of individual incidents which cast light on the characters, rivalries, and alliances of the gods but do not give a single coherent picture of their lives.

But there are hints and overtones of a larger environment which is incompletely described. For example there is the creation of the world from the body of the giant Ymir when he is sacrificed by Odin and his brothers Vili and Ve. And there are fragmentary accounts of the mysterious other-race, the Vanir, originally enemies of the gods but who intermarried with the Aesir; they are clearly important, but their interactions with the gods are only partially described. And there are the ever-present giants as well as the evil beings born from gods and others who will meet the gods in the final battle of Ragnarok.

Finally, there are adventures which lead into the lives of human heroes and the conflict between two great human families which ultimately may link with historical events.

The individual adventures of the gods are many and very revealing of their characters but often just hints at other adventures so that we have to guess at the context and unspoken histories. For example, they introduce the malicious god called Loki, and tell of the "Flyting" where Loki taunts all of the gods at a great feast and flaunts their defects in a contemptuous display. But in other tales Loki is the companion of Thor and helps them when the giants are forced to help build Asgard, the city of the gods. Thus Loki is a complex character, not all bad but erratic, malicious but perhaps not treacherous even though he causes the death of the beautiful god, Baldur.

Which brings us to Baldur where much of the story has surely been lost. He is supposedly invulnerable, but who is slain in game by an arrow made of mistletoe since his mother forgot to get this plant’s promise that he would not harm her son. In most (but not all stories) this occurs because of a trick or plot Loki, and he suffers a terrible revenge (which has echoes of that of the Greek Prometheus). And the killing of Baldur is so upsetting that a child is conceived simply to avenge his death. Yet we are nowhere told why Baldur is so well regarded and important.

But all the stories are not of gods and giants since we are also told of the origin of men by the act of the god Rig, and their division into the three classes of men – serfs, peasants, and noblemen. And later we hear of Odin’s achievement of domination over men when he leaves Troy and journeys north. In this he succeeds by his deception of King Gylfi which shows less than honorable behavior on his part. And though Odin is always acknowledged as the King of the Gods, it is Thor who seems more active in the lives of the other gods. For example, it is he who quiets Loki in his Flyting. Odin is revered because of his intense search for knowledge rather than his acts, and he is not above reproach since he is actually deposed at one point though later restored to power.

Finally the mythology apparently shades off into history when we are told of the tragic conflict of the Volsung and Nifling (or Nieblung) families and the rise of human heros such as Siegfried. But this tale has its roots in true mythology which tells us much of the cursed "Ring of Andvari" where Odin, Loki, and Hoenir must find gold to atone for the killing of Otter. Here we are on the familiar ground of human jealousy, rivalry, and deception, but all begins with the evil Ring of Andvari.

There are many other stories, some of which are discussed later when we note links with other Indo European mythologies.

We have found that both individual names and family relationships are important in understanding Indo European mythologies and Norse mythology makes significant contributions in this area. In particular, as we have noted elsewhere, the oldest name of the Norse King of the Gods, Gwoden, is identical in form to one of those of the Indian King of the gods, Gadhin (though usuallly called Indra), and to that of the Welsh wizard, Gwydion.

With this encouraging example, and since all of the surviving sources of Norse, Germanic myths have many common elements and apparently common sources we might hope that here we would find clarity in genealogy and consistency in names. Nothing could be farther from the truth! The parentage and family relationships of the Norse pantheon is a confusing array of contradictions.

The problem is compounded by the style of Norse epics where the characters are often, quite deliberately, not called by their more usual names but by a "kenning" which is a "name" which describes the attributes they possess – wise, brave, and so on. The major personages may have many of these which add to the poetry and yet which are well enough known that they do not introduce great confusion. More significant are completely contradictory statements and statements which are apparently unambiguous but which are isolated and cannot be checked. For example, Odin (here called Vegtam) says that he is "Valtam’s son", but the more usual account is that he and his two brothers Vili and Ve were sons of Bor who was a son of Buri; are we to assume that Valtam was another name for Bor? And again, we hear that Thor says "I am Othin’s (Odin’s) son, Meili’s brother"; but Meili is not mentioned elsewhere despite his apparent importance to Thor!

We have discussed many of these aspects in our full text but have come to no simple resolution of the difficulties. We will not elaborate upon the genealogies and names here but include some important aspects in the next section.

There are many examples of these links; some of these are simply examples of remarkable "coincidences" of names or facts and some are fairly complex similarities od themes of stories. We shall give examples of both.

The Name of the King of the Gods: As we have noted several times, the oldest form of the name of the Norse King of the gods is Gwoden, and this is essentially identical with Gadhin, one of the names of the Indian King of the gods, Indra. It is also the same as that of the Welsh wizard, Gwydion.

Goats For Horses: Thor, as is well-known, has a chariot drawn by two goats; this is not discussed or explained. The Indian Pushan also has a cart drawn by two goats, a fact which is also not explained. We do not identify Pushan with Thor, but this is so distinctive that it is a probable element of an original Indo European myth.

Creation of the World: There is a remarkable similarity between the Norse sacrifice of the giant Ymir and of the Indian Brahma to create the world.

To quote, "Of Ymir’s flesh the earth was shaped. The barren hills of his bones; and of his skull the sky was shaped, of his blood the briny sea". And of Brahma "The mountains were his bones. The earth was the suet and the flesh. The oceans constituted his blood and the firmament his belly …. The sky is the crown of his head. …."

The Two Races: The conflict of two separate peoples who finally join in marriages is found in several mythologies.

In Norse are the Aesir and the Vanir. In Indian we have the Asuras and the Devas. Note here that the Asura are the demons so that there is some role reversal, but this is similar to Persian where the Ahuras are the gods and the Daevas (including Indra) are demons. And in Irish we have the Tuatha de Danann and the Sons of Mil.

The names do not match exactly though we believe that it is likely that the Norse "Vanir" derived from a corruption of some from like "Danavanir".

The Sacred Drink: The origin of the sacred Soma of India (Haoma in Persian) is told in several different forms, and most commonly it is created in the "Churning of the Ocean but one version says that it was stolen by Indra, the King of the Gods, from "the heavenly Gandharva".

In India the Soma has an extreme religious significance, and the oldest source, the Rigveda, says that it was guarded in heaven by the Gandharva. In this version the Soma is brought from heaven by an eagle, and, one of the hymns talks of Indra taking the form of an eagle (although not precisely in this context). But Indra does "take the Soma by force" and "stealthily approaches the irresistible Gandharva".

In Norse legend the mead is created by mixing the spittle of the Aesir and the Vanir when they declare a truce, but it is stolen. A complicated story follows involving dwarves, concealment of the mead in a cave, its theft by Odin (here called Bolverk), and his transformation into and eagle to escape a guardian.

The King of the Gods is Deposed: In both Norse and Indian legend the King of the gods is cast down from his throne because of inappropriate behavior and then restored to rule later.

The Norse story comes in several versions that cast very different lights on the participants. In one Odin is simply away too long on his travels and the gods elect another in his place, but in another he is betrayed by his wife Frigg (compare the Irish tale of Partholon) and Odin simply leaves; but another man takes his place who pretends to be Odin. However Frigg dies and Odin resumes his rule.

In the Indian version Indra elects to leave his throne because he has committed a sin by killing a priest (who happened to be the evil serpent Vritra). The gods elect Nahusha in his place, but Nahusha improperly also claims Indra’s wife, Indrani and he is deposed in his turn. Eventually Indra is absolved of his sin by sacrifice and returns to claim his throne.

Founding of Castes: In both Norse, Indian. And Persian legend are accounts of the founding of castes, that is birth categories in which people have fixed positions in life.

In the Poetic Edda the "Lay of Rig" is entirely devoted to the founding of the three castes. The god Heimdall who is called "Rig" in this lay (no reason is given for the two names) comes down to earth and visits three couples; they are respectively laboring serfs, weavers, and gentlefolk. Rig impregnates the three wives and they bear children who are the founders of the three castes. There is no more to the story and looking at other aspects of Heimdall’s life produces no clarification of this matter. We find that he was the warder of Asgard, was called the "white god", that he was "matchless in strength", and that he was born of nine "etin maids", that is giants, who are sisters, but there is nothing more relating to the castes. Heimdall’s parentage is variously given, but the Prose Edda calls him the son of Odin.

The Indian legend tells of the foundation of four castes, the fourth probably being added by the particular circumstances in India whereby the darker, conquered people were designated as "untouchables". The four castes were called Brahmin (the learned and usually priests), Kshatriya (the warriors who were rulers), Vaishya (agricultural wokers and traders), and Sudra (the lowest caste who served the other three). There is some confusion in the name of the founder but our studies indicate that he was Vishwamitra who was a son of the King of the Gods as was Heimdall.

The Persian legends also has four castes, Katuzi, Neysari, Nasudi, and Ahnukhwashi. The first two have the same roles as in India, but the third and fourth are agriculturalists and craftsmen and roughly correspond to India’s third caste. There is no caste with the lowly role of the fourth caste in India. The founder is clearly said to be the King Jamshid, but this name is a corruption of Yama which is another name for the Indian Vishwamitra.

The similarity in background of India and Persia means that their accounts might be expected to be similar, but the existence of castes in Norse must mean that this was an ancient classification.

The Rival Brothers: Several Indo European mythologies have accounts of one of the most prominent legends, that of the rival brothers who both support and fight with each other. However, Norse legend is of particular interest because it preserves names that are generally not found elsewhere and describes a distinctive example of the conflict.

The Norse legend tells of Odin and his wife Frigg overlooking the affairs of two brothers called Geirrodr and Agnar; these are either the foster sons or true sons of the God and Goddess. Their rivalry is clear from an early age when both are adrift alone in aboat, and when it reaches a shore, the elder, Geirrodr, pushes the boat and his brother back out to seas. Geirrodr, who is Odin’s favorite, becomes king, but Frigg comments that he shows none of the generosity expected of a king. Odin is stung by this remark and visits Geiroddr’d court in disguise, under the name of Grimnir, to see for himself how matters stand. Odin is ill-treated by Geirrodr by being placed between two fires for eight nights. When his cloak begins to burn he begins a chant and the terrified Geirrodr realizes who he is and draws his sword – but he slips and stumbles on it losing his life.

This specific tale is not found elsewhere but the names are very significant as we shall show.

The conflict between the brothers is told in several ways in Indian legend, for example as the fight between Balin and Sugriva that is matched by the Arthurian story of the two brothers called Balin and Balan who mistakenly kill each other. However, searching for the alternative names for the brothers in India legend shows that these include Garuda and Agni, an excellent match for the Norse names.

There are in fact at least nine examples of matching brotherly conflicts and names in Celtic, Indian, and Norse, some of which are more convincing than other. One such example is in Parzival (which is actually Celtic not Germanic in origin) where the brothers are called Gahmuret and Angevin.

The Stone in the Head: A small but significant point is a match between Norse and Irish legends.

One of Thor’s great battles was with the giant Hrungir, and though the giant was killed, pieces of the whetstone that was his weapon lodged in Thor’s head. The wise woman Groa sang spells that loosened the stone but she was distracted and failed to complete the enchantment so that the stone remained lodged in his head.

In Ireland the warriors had the gruesome practice of making a deadly slingstone by mixing an enemies’ brain with lime. This kind of weapon was used by Cet to strike down Conchobar, one of the foster-fathers of Cuchulain. Conchobar did not die from the wound but the stone could not be removed by the physicians for fear of killing him. But eventually he died when he heard of the crucifiction of Christ and felt such emotion that the stone moved in his head and killed him.

The examples of matches between Norse and other mythologies are, be believe, quite sufficient to show many links but only represent the most obvious cases. In particular, there are many matches in names and genealogies that show that many names also match but showing this requires presenting some quite complicated evidence. We believe that although the Norse legends are incomplete they are a rich source of original Indo European names and stories that deserve additional intensive study. One such area is the work of Saxo that have not received due appreciation in the past.