Children's Stories from the Northern Legends - Illustrated by Harry Theaker

THE NORTHERN LEGENDS

WHEN we want colours of gorgeous hue and tales of marvellous magic to delight us and make us wonder, we have been accustomed to turn our faces to the resplendent East, to the blue skies and the blaze of the sun of spice-laden Arabia and Persia, and, farther still, across India and China.

To-day let me suggest that you turn your attention towards the North, to that wonderful country of Asgard; you will not be disappointed. The deeds of the Giants of Scandinavian mythology have not been surpassed by any other creatures in the world of imagination, and the pages of this book cannot be other than a great delight to you.

You will be held entranced by the adventures of charming Aslaug; you will revel in Baldur the Beautiful, and marvel at the wisdom of Odin, and of Thor, his eldest son, with his huge hammer which always returned to his hand of its own accord, no matter how far he hurled it, with his iron gloves, without which no hands could hold the hammer, and with his belt, able to double the strength of him who buckled it on. And can any fairy story or wild romance equal the adventures of Frithiof, or the beauty of Undine the water nymph? Read and judge for yourself, and you will not say I am wrong.

The following stories have been chosen with the greatest care, and give the gems of the enchanting and romantic legends of the North.

EDRIC VREDENBURG.

ASGARD AND ITS KING

In the beginning of all things Ymir lived:

There was neither sand nor sea nor cold waves;

There was no earth then, nor heaven above—

Nothing but a vast chasm; nowhere any grass.

SO sang the old Norse bard a thousand years ago, while round him stood groups of warriors, boys, and women, thrilled, eager, listening; for they were to hear again the tales which never failed to stir them—tales of the birth of the world, of their heroic ancestors, of the warlike breed of the Volsungs from whom their kings were sprung, of the gods and goddesses who had loved and helped their nation in the past, and would, so they believed, love and help them still.

In the beginning of all things Ymir lived.

Who or what was this Ymir? Boys and girls, listen to the marvellous tales of the old Norse bards, and you shall learn how from Ymir sprang the gods, and from the gods men; how the earth, called by them Midgard, came to exist; and how in the midst stood Asgard, city of light and glory, home of deities; how, far to the north of Midgard lay Jotunheim, where dwelt the ugly, cruel giants of the frost and mist, and Helheim, place of wickedness.

In the beginning of all things Ymir lived. Now Ymir was the first of all the giants, the first living thing in the world, and he was evil.

The Great Power who ordered all, and of whom nothing can be known or said, made Ymir out of frost and fire, meaning by and by to turn the evil in him to good ends. Next, the Great Power formed a cow to nourish Ymir, and the cow lived on salt, which she licked from the cold rocks by the sea. On her milk Ymir fed, growing stronger and more evil, and in course of time he had many sons, wicked as their father. One day, as the cow licked, the form of a beautiful head emerged slowly from the rock, and presently there sprang out, whole and perfect, the god Bure. And he was the first good thing in the world. Bure’s eldest son was Odin, who being also good, conceived a deadly hatred for Ymir and his wicked family; and one day he, with his brothers, slew the monster, from whom flowed such a sea of blood that all the giants but one were drowned in it.

The sole survivor, Bergelmer, escaped to the dim northern lands of mist and frost, which he peopled with his children, ever planning revenge and waging war against the gods who had exiled him. This land of the giants was named Jotunheim.

When Odin and his brothers were rid of their enemies, they looked upon the expanse and void about them and said they would make an ordered place wherein to live. So they threw the great body of Ymir into a hole and fashioned it till it became the flat earth; his blood they poured round it, and that became the sea; his bones they turned into mountains, his teeth into rocks, and his brains into clouds, which they threw into the air, to help form the sky.

In the centre of the earth they marked out a special circle, making it softer and more beautiful than the rest, and because of its position they called it Midgard. Within the centre of Midgard they marked out yet another circle, bound it with towering mountains, and high aloft, almost to reach the clouds, they built a shining city for themselves and their children. This city they called Asgard.

Then for many years did Odin and his brethren live happily together. They married wives and built palaces, magical with beauty. Sons and daughters were born to them, who, growing into godship, were given posts of honour and duty in and about Asgard. Some took charge of the stars, others looked after the sun and moon, others stood guard over the city itself, to defend it, if need arose, from the attacks of the giants, who never ceased to cause anguish to the gods by reason of their wicked doings, even though they were locked away, for the most part, in the region of mists and darkness.

Now one day as Odin with his brethren walked by the side of a lovely lake in Midgard, he wondered why he had not created living inhabitants for so fair a place. On the shore he noticed the trunk of an ash tree and the trunk of an elder, which had been washed up by the water. Let us make these alive, he said, and forthwith were created Aske and Embla, the first man and the first woman, from whom sprang all the human race. And Odin and the gods loved their creatures and watched over them tenderly, bestowing on them many gifts, and teaching them the arts of peace; and they shaped Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, to lead from the top of high Asgard down to the dwelling place of men. But the giants learned what had been done. They bestirred themselves, saying to each other, Now comes our revenge: we will harry these puny creatures whom the gods love, and in time we will destroy them.

So when next Odin turned his gaze down from his air-throne to Midgard, he beheld a piteous sight. The giants had invaded the earth. They had killed many men and tortured others, burned the villages, and destroyed the crops. In short, peace was gone from the earth, and the wail of an oppressed humanity rose like fire to inflame Odin’s heart.

See! he said to Frigga, his beautiful Queen, even as I look now upon a sweet green field in the midst of Midgard, a giant with three heads strides into it. He has come from Jotunheim bent on mischief. He is seizing a shepherd boy. Now he throws him into the sea. He takes the sheep one by one and cracks their joints. Why do not the men of the place try to stop him?

They know not how, answered Frigga, for we have taught them only the arts of peace.

It is time, then, that I taught them the arts of war, replied Allfather. These monsters of Jotunheim must be quelled. The earth needs me. I must leave Asgard and thee, my beautiful Queen, and wander for many days in Midgard, piercing perchance even to the land of mists and snow, there to combat with these unholy monsters. Farewell. Keep thou the throne till I return.

So saying Odin vanished. He sped on invisible wings through the city gates, and when he reached the boundaries of human territory, his appearance was so changed that none could have guessed him to be the Great Allfather. Instead of his shining gold armour, his magic sword and shield, he wore the dress of an ordinary traveller. His face seemed that of an old man, with a long grey beard, and over his shoulder hung a bright blue cloak. It was always thus that in after years he visited his people, and they grew gradually to recognize beneath the garb of the traveller Way wise—as he called himself—the presence of the King of gods. But on this first journey none recognized him. He travelled from village to village, from town to town, sharing the life of men as though he were a man, teaching the people more about themselves and their duties, filling them with a desire for virtue, and urging upon them the need for struggling to the death against the raids of the giants. He showed them how to forge and use weapons, and taught them that the noblest achievement of a human life is to die fighting against tyranny and in defence of the right. Then, when he had journeyed into all the realms and among all the peoples of the earth, he blessed and bade farewell to them.

Oh, peoples of Midgard, he cried, cease not to remember Way wise, who taught you the use of arms. Fight never among yourselves, but ever against your common enemies from Jotunheim. Be true and brave, and glory shall crown you in the other world.

So Allfather turned his back upon the busy life of men and pressed towards the place of mists and darkness, Niflheim, where he knew he should find the giant Mimir—a giant so wise that he understood everything. At length Odin reached the spot where the circle of the sea meets the circle of the sky, and here he saw Mimir guarding the Well of Wisdom.

What seekest thou, Allfather? cried the sage, fixing upon him his brooding eyes.

A draught from the water of wisdom, replied Odin, for I know not how to battle against the powers of evil unless many hidden things are revealed to me. It is for the good of gods and men that I crave thy help.

Many before thee, 0 Father of Asgard, have sought this boon, but it is decreed by the Fates that none may achieve it except by sacrifice.

Demand thy price.

Which of thy possessions dost thou value the most highly?

Odin’s head sank uopn his breast, for of all he possessed, he most dearly valued his son Baldur, the Shining One, the bringer of peace and joy.

Mimir knew his thought, and smiled.

Nay, said he. It is not Baldur thou must sacrifice; his work is not yet finished.

Take then my right hand.

Not thy right hand, but thy right eye, O Allfather.

For a moment Odin paused. Then, remembering the beautiful, gentle beings he had created, and the sweet earth, and the power of the giants to corrupt and destroy, he stretched up his hand and himself plucked out the eye and gave it to Mimir. In return Mimir offered him a great horn brimming full of the water of wisdom. Odin raised it to his lips and emptied it to its dregs. Instantly within his brain the book of knowledge was opened, so that he knew about all the past, present and future of the world; the trouble that was to befall, as the day of Ragnarok approached, bringing the terrible battle between gods and giants which was to end his rule; the re-awakening of Midgard, after the great destruction, to eternal peace and happiness. He learned also that what the Fates had decreed must be accomplished, and that his duty was to further their aims and help forward the final triumph of good over evil. For a time he sat silent, amazed at the wonder of the vision, and then prepared to depart.

I go now, he said, to visit Niflheim andHelheim, the cursed regions where devils and lost spirits live. Farewell, Mimir ! Never shall I regret the price I have paid you.

On he pressed through strange, dim