The Gods of the North: an epic poem. Adam Oehlenschläger
to the exploits of Thor, to denote their peculiar danger and difficulty.
BETSLA, name of a beautiful giantess, the wife of Bor, and mother of Odin, Vil and Ve.
BIFROST, name of the vast bridge which unites heaven to earth, and typifies the rainbow. Over this bridge the Asar must pass when they descend to the world below; over it must likewise pass the heroes slain in battle, when they ascend to Valhalla, escorted by the Valkyrior. Etym.: from the Icelandic words bifa (to move) and röst (stone). The bridge Bifrost was supposed to be constructed of stones of various colours.
BILSKIRNIR, name of the palace or castle of Thor, in Trudvang. It is tiled with copper shields, its halls are inlaid with gold and silver, and it has five hundred and forty gates. Etym.: Icelandic words billd (aspect, image), and skirna (make bright).
BOLVERK, name assumed by Odin when he served Bauge, disguised as a labourer. The etymology of this word may be böll (a bolt) and verk (work).
BOR, or Bör, name of the son of Bure; by his union with the beautiful giantess Betsla, he became the father of the Scandinavian triad, Odin, Vil, and Ve. Bor, in Icelandic, means son. But I suspect the word to be of Hebrew origin, meaning beginning; for böra is precisely the Hebrew word wherewith the first book of Genesis begins.
BRAGUR, or BRAGA, an Asa, the god of poetry and musical declamation. At the banquets of Valhalla, he chaunts to the sound of his harp the praises of the gods and Einherier, and celebrates in high-flown language their virtues and warlike deeds. He is the husband of Iduna. He is called by the poets of the north, Bragur hin gamle (Bragur the ancient). Etym.: Icelandic verb bragga (to adorn, to embellish). Our English word to brag comes probably from the same root.
BREIDABLIK, name of the palace of Balder, in Asagard; it is tiled with pearls! Etym.: breid (broad, extended), blik (view).
BURE, father of Bor, and progenitor of the Asar race: his production, effectuated by the cow Audumbla, has been already related in the translator’s preface. Bure in Icelandic has the same meaning as Bör, i.e. son. Both the words come probably from the Hebrew or Zend, and mean the same thing, viz. origin or beginning.
DAG (day), the son of Delling.
DELLING, name of the father of Dag (day); the word means division.
DISA, pl. DISAR; name given to the Asynior, or goddesses. This word is evidently of Persian origin.
DISARSAL (hall of the Disar), name often given to the palace of Vingolf, the peculiar place of reunion for the goddesses in Asagard.
DOVRE, name of a chain of mountains in Norway, which seems to bear the same relation to Asagard as the natural mount Olympus in Greece bears to the mythological one.
DRAPA means funeral dirge, or song of the apotheosis. In it were celebrated the funeral ceremonies of a deceased hero, his glorious actions recapitulated, and his elevation to the rank of an Einherier and admission into Valhalla triumphantly announced. The English word dirge comes, perhaps, from the Icelandic and Swedish verb dyrka (to adore).
DRUPNER, name of a magic ring fabricated for Odin by the dwarfs, at the command of Asa-Lok. This ring had the faculty of dropping eight other rings on every ninth night: by this is typified the change of the moon and its phases. When Odin placed the ring Drupner on the bosom of his son Balder, when he laid his corpse upon the funeral pile, he whispered a secret in his ear. This may allude to the promise of resurrection, but none knew the secret, save Odin himself. The placing of the ring Drupner (the moon) on the bosom of Balder (the sun) may typify the eclipse of the sun by the moon intervening. Etym.: from the Icelandic verb driupa (to drop, or distil).
DVERG, pl. DVERGAR (Dwarf), mythological beings, of short stature, who dwelt in caverns and were skilful in the fabrication of metallic instruments. They are unable to bear the glare of the sun, and prefer to rove about at night. From this circumstance, and from their being at times disposed to mischief, they are considered as related to the giants; but they are employed both by gods and giants to make armour and other instruments for them. They are represented as being of an exceedingly timorous disposition.
DWARFS, see DVERG.
EIKTHYRNIR, name of the mythological stag which stands on the roof of the portal of Valaskialf, and from whose antlers springs a fountain which furnishes water to all the rivers of the earth. Etym.: eikt (vigils), hyrnir (horns).
EINHERIER, name given to mortal warriors deified for their valour, and admitted among the Asar; they are constant guests at the banquets of Valhalla. Their occupations and amusements are thus described in the prosaic Edda: “Every day they dress themselves in their armour, go out on horseback to fight, and cut at one another; thus they pass their time. But when the hour of repast approaches, they ride home to the palace, and take their seats at the banquet.” In the elder or poetic Edda, in the chapter called the Vaftrudnismal, are the following words concerning them:
“All the Einherier
In Odin’s domain,
Fight together daily,
And choose their prey of death:
From the battle they ride afterwards
To drink beer with the Asar,
And to feast on the flesh of Sâhrimner,
In joy and amity.”
Etym.: einn (one, unique), and heria (to bear arms).
EIR, name of an Asynia, whose office it is to heal the wounds of the Einherier, when they are first admitted into Valhalla, by squeezing into their wounds the juice of the beet. She is, in fact, the goddess of medicine.
ELDIR, name of Ægir’s purveyor; he is supposed to dwell under the famous whirlpool of Malstrom, and to break in pieces with his club every bark that is engulfed therein. Etym.: eld (fire), and may allude to the subterranean fire supposed to be under Malstrom, and to cause its effervescence.
ELIVAGOR is, mythologically, the collective name of the rivers that flow from the source Hvergelmer, in Ginnungagap. Geographically, Elivagor is thought to mean the mouth of the White Sea. Etym.: elf (a stream), and vaga (to wander).
ELYERHOY, name of a hill or barrow in the island of Sealand (Denmark), so called from its being the supposed habitation of alfs or elves. In Danish, hoi means height.
EMBLA, name of the first woman, according to the Scandinavian mythology. See Askur. Embla means laborious, productive.
FENRIS, name of the mythologic wolf, begotten by Asa-Lok on the witch or giantess Angurbod. He is malignant, frightful to behold, and his nostrils vomit fire. His presence inspired the gods with such terror, that they endeavoured to bind him with chains of iron and copper; but these he easily burst asunder; they then had resource to a stratagem, and succeeded in binding him with a magic chain, which was composed as follows: of the noise of cat’s feet, of the beards of women, of the breath of birds, of the saliva of fish, of the nerves of bears, and of the roots of mountains. This chain he could not break. The Asar then cast him down into Niffelheim, and placed him at the gate of Helheim, the residence of Hela. There he is to remain chained until Ragnarok; he will then break his chain, join in the battle of the giants against the gods, and devour Odin; but he will be afterwards himself slain by Vidar. By Fenris wolf is typified the subterranean fire, which it is supposed will one day occasion the conflagration of the universe. Etym.: Fenia (giantess or sorceress), risi (to spring from).
FENSAL,