The Importance of Scandinavian Mythology by stevengoesmyths

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Although worship of the Scandinavian gods ended a thousand years ago, and the myths are now exotic and foreign to most people in the English-speaking world, we make implicit reference to the gods and myths almost every day of our lives. That is because the names of the weekdays Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday all contain the names of old Scandinavian gods (Týr, Odin, Thor, and Frigg; the Old English forms were Tiw, Wodæn, Thunor, and Friija), and the choice of the gods for each of these days was based on myths about them. Furthermore, when we read about or travel in places like Odense, Denmark (probably best known outside Denmark as the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen), we see a place-name that once bore the name of the god Odin. There are hundreds of these in Scandinavia, but they are seldom obvious, except in Iceland, where there are places with names like Πórsmörk (Thor’s forest), a favorite place for hiking and camping. And if you are acquainted with or have heard of anyone called Freyja, Thor, Baldur (a not uncommon name in Iceland), or any Scandinavian name beginning with Tor, you know of the persistence of the names of the gods in personal naming systems.

“Thor’s Forest” in Iceland.

The era when Norse mythology was most known in more recent times was the Romantic period, when the gods and myths were a popular source of inspiration. Paul Henri Mallet’s Introduction à l’histoire de Dannemarc, ou l’on traite de la religion, des loix, des moeurs, et des usages des anciens Danois (Copenhagen: Berling, 1755) made Norse mythology widely known for the first time in a world language, and the work was translated into English in 1770 as Northern Antiquities: Or, A Description of The Manners, Customs, Religion, and Laws of The Ancient Danes, and Other Northern Nations; Including Those of Our Own Saxon Ancestors. With a Translation of The Edda, Or System of Runic Mythology, and Other Pieces, from The Ancient Icelandic Tongue (London: T. Carnan and Co., 1770). The translator was Bishop Percy, who is famous for his Reliques of Ancient Poetry, a collection of ballads and other pieces that was one of the most influential works of English Romanticism. The second volume of Mallet contained a translation of the mythological stories of Snorri’s Edda, in a late arrangement done by Magnús Ólafsson, parson at Laufás in the early seventeenth century and therefore known as the Laufás Edda. It was at the end of the eighteenth century, too, that translations of eddic poetry began to appear in the European languages. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries Norse mythology was the vogue, especially in Germany and Scandinavia, and many of the famous Romantic poets reworked stories from Norse mythology into drama or verse. Romantic painters also found inspiration in the Norse myths.

In a way the ultimate result of this Romantic interest in Norse myth and heroic legend was the opera cycle by the German composer Richard Wagner entitled Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). This mighty work, originally intended to be heard over the course of just three days, consists of a prologue called Das Rheingold (The Rhine-gold), followed by three hefty three act operas, Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods). Wagner wrote the book as well as the music, using a kind of alliterative, archaic German that has its own strange charm, at least when sung. He based his story loosely on the so-called Burgundian cycle, that is, the heroic poems of the Poetic Edda centering on Sigurd, Völsunga saga, and the medieval German epic Das Nibelungenlied (The Song of the Nibelungs). The major action of the first part of the cycle Wagner took from the story that prefaces Reginsmál in the Poetic Edda, involving a cursed ring that the gods obtain and must give up. Although many of the gods make only small appearances, Odin, called either Wotan (the German form of his name) or the Wanderer, plays an absolutely pivotal role. He leaves the stage at the end of the second act of Die Walküre, but Walhalla, the abode of the gods, is seen crumbling at the end of Götterdämmerung as the Rhine overflows its banks and cleanses the world of the cursed ring. It is powerful music and powerful theater. If anyone is interested in reading the Völsunga saga you can always read it here (I,II,III,IV,V) on my blogpage.

Heinrich Gudehus (1845-1909) as Siegfried forging the sword Nothung in Wagner’s opera.

Wagner was one of Hitler’s favorite composers, and Norse mythology had a sad revival in connection with Nazi ideology. Today Norse mythology every once in a while is found in connection with contemptible neo-Nazi activities, but for the most part it is the stuff of either comic books or fantasy literature. There was a revival of “belief in the Aesir” some years ago in Iceland, which seemed to have to do at least in part with tax breaks for organized religion, although partying is also important. That revival had its counterpart in Norway, where a group of students announced themselves to be believers in the Aesir. In celebration, they drank some beer and sacrificed a sausage.