Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods and Heroes
Norse Mythology
Legends of Gods and Heroes
by
Peter Andreas Munch
In the revision of Magnus Olsen
Translated from Norwegian by Sigurd Bernhard Hustvedt
New York The American-Scandinavian Foundation
1926
vii
CONTENTS
Translator's Preface Introduction
PAGES
xi xiii
I. MYTHS OF THE GODS
The Creation of the World -- The Giants -- The ?sir -- Men
and Women -- Dwarfs -- Vanir -- Elves ...........................
1
The Plains of Ida -- Valhalla -- Yggdrasil ..........................
5
Odin ...........................................................................
7
Thor ...........................................................................
10
Balder ........................................................................
12
Njord .......................................................................... 13
Frey ...........................................................................
15
Tyr .............................................................................
16
Heimdal ......................................................................
17
Bragi ..........................................................................
18
Forseti ........................................................................
18
Hod -- Vali -- Vidar -- Ull .............................................. 18
Hoenir -- Lodur ............................................................
19
Loki and His Children ....................................................
21
Hermod -- Skirnir ......................................................... 25
The Goddesses -- Frigg -- Jord -- Freyja .........................
25
Saga -- Eir -- Gefjon -- Var -- Vor -- Syn -- Snotra .......... 28
Idun -- Nanna -- Sif ......................................................
29
The Norns ................................................................... 30
Familiar Spirits -- Attendant Spirits ..................................
31
The Valkyries ............................................................... 32
Thorgerd Hoelgabrud and Irpa .........................................
34
The Forces of Nature -- ?gir .......................................... 34
Night -- Day ................................................................ 37
viii
Hel ............................................................................
37
The Giants ..................................................................
39
The Dwarfs .................................................................. 41
The Vettir ....................................................................
42
The Heroes and Life in Valhalla ....................................... 48
Corruption ................................................................... 49
The Treasures of the Gods ............................................. 50
The Rape of Idun .........................................................
53
Thor's Unlucky Journey to Jotunheim ...............................
56
Thor's Visit to Hymir ...................................................... 65
Thor's Visit to Geirroed ................................................... 70
Thor's Combat with Rungnir ............................................ 72
Thrym Steals Mjollnir .....................................................
76
The Necklace of the Brisings ...........................................
79
The Death of Balder ...................................................... 80
?gir's Banquet -- The Chastising of Loki ........................... 86
Other Norse Myths Concerning the Death of Balder (in Saxo)
94
The Death of Kvasir -- Suttung .......................................
97
Odin's Debate with Vafthrudnir ........................................ 100
Odin (Grimnir) and Geirroed ............................................ 102
Harbard and Thor ......................................................... 105
Ragnarok -- The Twilight of the Gods .............................. 108
On the Mythology of the Eddas ....................................... 112
II. HEROIC LEGENDS
Introductory Remarks .................................................... 123 Wayland ..................................................................... 126 The Hjadnings ............................................................. 129 The Legend of Tyrfing ................................................... 130 The Legends of the Volsungs -- Helgi Hjorvardsson ............ 147
ix
Volsung -- Siggeir -- Sigmund -- Sinfjotli ......................... 151 Helgi Hundingsbane ...................................................... 159 Sinfjotli ....................................................................... 165 The Death of Sigmund ................................................... 166 Sigurd Fafnirsbane ....................................................... 168 The Niflungs -- The Slaying of Sigurd ............................... 175 Atli ............................................................................. 184 Jormunrek .................................................................. 187 Aslaug ........................................................................ 190 German Legends Dealing with Siegfried and the Nibelungs ... 192 The Development of the Legendary Cycle of the Volsungs .... 197 Hadding ..................................................................... 204 Frodi the Peaceful and His Mill ........................................ 211 Helgi and Rolf Kraki ...................................................... 215 Starkad the Old ............................................................ 221 Orvar-Odd .................................................................. 235 Norna-Gest ................................................................. 237 Asmund Kempibane ...................................................... 239 Romund Greipsson ....................................................... 242 Ragnar Lodbrok and His Sons ......................................... 245 Hjorleif and Half ............................................................ 251 Fridthjof ...................................................................... 256
III. THE WORSHIP OF THE GODS
Of Temples, of Sacrifices, and of Divination ....................... 267 The Principal Temples in the North ................................... 276 Bibliography ................................................................ 279 Notes ......................................................................... 283 Index ......................................................................... 363
xi
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE
The Norwegian original on which the present translation is based was written by Peter Andreas Munch, the founder of the Norwegian school of history. Munch's scholarly interests embraced also many related subjects, such as general history, archaeology, geography, ethnography, linguistics, and jurisprudence. His varied labors have in large part stood the test of time. His most important work, the "History of the Norwegian People" (Det norske folks historie, 8 vols. 1851?63) covering the period of Norway's ancient independence ending with the Kalmar Union of 1397, still remains a source book and a point of departure for historians. The great significance of Munch's scholarship lies in its influence upon the modern renascence of Norwegian culture. In the middle of the nineteenth century he was the most conspicuous intellectual force in the country, as Wergeland had been before him and as Bj?rnson came to be after him. The national spirit in Norway, which has steadily gained strength, owes a heavy debt to the gifted leaders of an earlier generation, not least among whom was Munch. As an historian, as an editor of Old Norse poetry and saga, as a recorder of the venerable myths and legends of the race, he did yeoman service in establishing a sense of historical continuity between the Norway of the past and the Norway of the present. Since his day, Norwegians have labored in the fields of history, folklore, and related subjects, deepening and strengthening that fruitful sense of national consciousness which he did so much to awaken.
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