Asgard and the Gods
The Tales and Traditions of Our Northern Ancestors
PART FOURTH
KING GYLPHI AND THE ASES
1. GEFION
Once upon a time when, as tradition informs us, Swithiod (Sweden) still lay hidden under the sea, yawning chasms suddenly opened in the depths below, and swallowed up the waters until the land appeared. As soon as it was dry, the fowls of heaven brought there the seeds of all kinds of trees, grass and herbs. Then the face of the country grew green, and flowers sprang up and adorned it, so that it was brilliant to look upon, as the carpet in a king's banqueting hall. Animals of all sorts were there also, some of which were useful and serviceable to man, while others dwelt shyly hidden away in remote places; and besides these there were wild beasts, such as bears, lynxes, and grim voracious wolves.
Men afterwards settled down in Sweden, tilled the land and began to trade; they spread themselves out over the country as they grew more numerous, and built villages, towns, and proud castles for the nobles. They were a warlike race. They fought against the wild beasts that lived in the forests, and against the marauding Jotuns and Trolls of the mountains. They were a free people and chose out the bravest of their heroes to be their leaders, Jarls and Princes, who protected the country from the inroads of any enemies who might venture to disturb the diligent husbandmen in their toil. The mightiest of the Jarls was called King, and lived in the town of Sigthuna.
Now King Gylphi once ruled over this people, who were greater in power, righteousness and wisdom than any of the other nations that dwelt in Midgard. Neither hostile armies nor robbers dared to cross the borders of the kingdom, and it was said that even the wild beasts refrained from harming any of the people, so much did they hold their chief in awe. Thus Gylphi ruled in undisturbed peace, and had abundant leisure to indulge his thirst after the highest knowledge and wisdom. He knew about the stars in the heavens; he visited the dwarfs in the interior of the earth, from whom he learned how to discover veins of gold and how to work metals into household utensils, weapons and shining ornaments. Moreover, he understood the art of using magic runes, by means of which he was able to get rid of snakes, to conjure up the spirits of the dead from their graves, and to change his form so as to escape recognition. He often feasted with his warriors, and together they drank mead and foaming ale. During these entertainments, skalds were always present to delight him and his heroes by the melody of their harps, and by their songs; for he loved music above all things, and would rather have gone without food than it.
The king once thrust his frothing cup from him impatiently, for the skalds who used to make his feasts pleasant to him had not come. Suddenly the sound of harp-playing was heard without; so sweet that all hearts were filled with longing, and the chords vibrated as powerfully as if twelve skalds had assembled to tune their strings. The door opened, and a tall female figure entered the hall; she was gentle and beautiful to look upon, and like a goddess in her bearing. Approaching the king she touched the harp-strings, and sang:
In gruesome grave no knowledge grows;
Yet the king shall ken what things must come.
High up to Heaven I raise my hymn,
And louder and louder I let it sound.
My wistful eyes watch Walkyries
Wafting the warriors by weirdly kiss,
From blood-stained field to blessed rest,
Where night and death are never known.
And I see here in the lofty hall
The hosts of heroes who with their lord
Shall wander to Walhall, the battle won,
And meet the maidens' melodious hail.
They soar in silence on winged steeds,
Alighting on grave-grounds, green with pines,
And singing lays of the light and love
That e'er abide in Odin's Home.
Gloomy and sad the song began, like a voice from the grave; but the music grew deeper and fuller as it went on to praise the fate of glorious warriors, and then again it sank soft and low as the whisper of the wind on a warm spring day, which tells of nature's resurrection.
Once more the figure repeated: "That e'er abide in Odin's Home," and as she did so, the notes of her harp were so sweet and thrilling, that the hearts of all the heroes present were filled with rapture, and they thought they saw the warrior-maidens who were to bear them to Walhalla.
Deep silence reigned in the hall; but as soon as the intoxication of the sounds, which had held their senses in thraldom, gradually passed off, the king rose from his seat, and said: "Speak, fair maiden, tell me thy name, and what guerdon thou askest for the song with which thou hast delighted us. Be it even to the half of Swithiod, it shall be thine, and this I swear by my kingly word."
"Gefion, the Giver," she replied, "is what I was called by Ases and Jotuns, when I was young. If thou, indeed, desirest to reward me, I shall only ask thee to give me as much land as I can plough round with my four bulls in a day and a night."
Gylphi was surprised that the maiden did not ask for a larger gift, and at once granted her request. She took her departure, and soon afterwards returned, bringing with her four bulls, the like of which had never been seen in Swithiod before, so huge and well-formed were they. They were, in sooth, like moving mountains, and their white foreheads shone with the lustre of the full moon. They were harnessed to a plough with a hundred shares, which cut down into the lowest depths of the earth, and tore the soil away from its foundations.
The bulls walked on dragging the ploughed land with them; they waded into the sea with it, and Gefion, who drove them, grew before the eyes of the astonished king and people until she was so tall that the great waves, high as they were, reached only to her waist, and seemed to be but sporting with her knees. She went on without stopping day and night, and then at length the land she had taken away with her rested in a shallow place. She fastened it down firmly there, and called it Zealand (sea-land). Having done this, she stepped upon it followed by the four bulls, which at once raised themselves up, and touched by her magic spells were changed into four strong youths, for they were her sons by a giant. The beautiful island soon flourished under her care. Wooded hills, green pastures and rich corn-fields provided the numerous population of Zealand not only with food, but also with all the pleasures and comforts of life. Hledra, a splendid royal residence, was next built, and there Gefion lived, and exercised undisputed sway over her subjects. She married a man named Skiöld, and became the mother of a long line of renowned kings.
Now Gylphi heard of all these events in his town of Sigthuna, and he was filled with wonder how such things could be. He saw Lake Löger (now Maelar), which had taken the place of the land the bulls had dragged away with their plough. He heard from travellers that the promontories of Zealand running out into the sea had the same form as the bays of Lake Maelar in his own country. He knew that Gefion was of the race of the Ases, and he puzzled day and night over how they had come to be so powerful. He enquired of the skalds and wise men of his kingdom, he consulted his runic signs; but he gained no information from any of these regarding that which he wished to find out. As his longing after wisdom gave him no rest, he determined to set off on a journey in search of the land where the mighty Ases lived, even though the attempt to find it might cost him his life.
His heart was set on making his way into Asgard that he might learn from its inhabitants of the creation and the end of the world, of the Ases' power and their mode of government, and of the fate of mankind, that he might afterwards make all these things known to mortal men.
King Gylphi was learned in magic. He took the unpretentious form of a common traveller, and called himself Gangleri (weary wanderer). He walked on a long way through Midgard, until he at length reached a palace, the height and circumference of which he could not measure. When he entered the doorway, he saw a vast hall before him, whose length his eye could not pierce. He perceived other mansions to the right hand and to the left, each of which was crowned with turrets that shone like gold in the sunlight. There was a tree there also, whose top rose to the immeasurable skies, and whose branches seemed to spread out over the whole world.
A man, playing with seven knives, was standing at the entrance of the palace. He threw them up into the air and caught them again so that they seemed to form a shining circle. He asked the traveller what he wanted; Gylphi answered that his name was Gangleri, that he wished to have a night's lodging and to be admitted to the presence of the lord of the palace.
"He is our king," replied the door-keeper; "follow me, and thou shalt see his face."
Having said this, he preceded the traveller up the hall.
There they saw many noble warriors assembled, who were amusing themselves, wassailing, playing and wrestling. Three men of venerable aspect were seated on thrones, one of which was higher than the other two, watching the games.
"The first of these chieftains is Har (High)," said the guide, "the other is Jafenhar (Equally high), and the last is Thridi (the Third)."
While he was still speaking, Har turned to the new-comer, and said: "Dost thou need food, stranger; if so, thou wilt find abundant store in Har's hospitable hall. Sit down, and share out meal."
Gangleri replied: "Higher than food and foaming beakers do I prize wisdom, which lifts the mind above earthly things. So I would fain find a wise man, who can answer my questions."
"Ask," said the chieftain, "and thou shalt be answered. But beware thy head, for it is forfeited if thou provest thyself unwise."
Gangleri drew nearer to the thrones, and began: "Who is the highest and the oldest of the gods, and what are his works and deeds that are most worthy of man's admiration?"
Har answered: "Allfather is his name in our tongue, but all the nations of the earth give him a different name, each in their own way. He is the highest and mightiest at all times, and rules over all things, the smallest as well as the greatest."
Jafenhar went on: "He created heaven and earth, the sea and the air, and everything that lives and moves therein. He alone is the greatest Ruler."
"The greatest and most glorious of his works," said Thridi, "was the creation of man, whose spirit, given by him, will live on, and will not die even when the body containing it is turned to dust. The good will live with him for ever in the place that is called Gimil, or Wingolf. The wicked shall also live, but they will descend to Hel, or even to Nifelhel deep down below in the ninth world."
After that, Gangleri asked many more questions regarding the creation and the end of the world, about the gods and their works, and about all the riddles of life, and he received answers and explanations.
But when he still went on enquiring further, the great hall suddenly burst with a terrible, loud crash, and in another moment everything had vanished. Gylphi found himself alone on a wide, desolate plain, where neither palace, tree nor shrub were to be seen. He set out at once on his homeward journey, and at last reached his own realm. There he related what he had seen and heard, and wise skalds sang of the marvellous things he had told them, and so knowledge grew and spread from land to land and from generation to generation, and did not die out of the memory of the people.
We see from this, what idea the Northern people had formed of the way in which the divine revelation was made. The conception of Allfather and his works appears to us to be the most remarkable part of this story, and fully confirms what we have before said on this subject.