Publications of the Milman Parry Collection
of Oral Literature No. 3
OLd NOrse MythOLOgy —
COMParative PersPeCtives
OLd NOrse MythOLOgy—
COMParative PersPeCtives
edited by Pernille hermann,
stephen a. Mitchell, and Jens Peter schjødt
with amber J. rose
Published by
THE MILMAN PARRY COLLECTION OF ORAL LITERATURE
Harvard University
Distributed by
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, Massachusetts & London, England
2017
Old Norse Mythology—Comparative Perspectives
Published by The Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature, Harvard University
Distributed by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts & London, England
Copyright © 2017 The Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature
All rights reserved
The Ilex Foundation (ilexfoundation.org) and the Center for Hellenic Studies
(chs.harvard.edu) provided generous financial and production support for the
publication of this book.
Editorial Team of the Milman Parry Collection
Managing Editors: Stephen Mitchell and Gregory Nagy
Executive Editors: Casey Dué and David Elmer
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hermann, Pernille, editor.
Title: Old Norse mythology--comparative perspectives / edited by Pernille
Hermann, Stephen A. Mitchell, Jens Peter Schjødt, with Amber J. Rose.
Description: Cambridge, MA : Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature,
2017. | Series: Publications of the Milman Parry collection of oral
literature ; no. 3 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017030125 | ISBN 9780674975699 (alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Mythology, Norse. | Scandinavia--Religion--History.
Classification: LCC BL860 .O55 2017 | DDC 293/.13--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017030125
Table of Contents
Series Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
by David Elmer, Casey Dué, Gregory Nagy, and Stephen Mitchell
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
by Joseph Harris
Preface: Situating Old Norse Mythology in Comparative Contexts . . . . . . . . . xiii
by Pernille Hermann, Stephen Mitchell, and Jens Peter Schjødt
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
Part One. THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL COMPARISONS
JENS PETER SCHJØDT Pre-Christian Religions of the North and
the Need for Comparativism: Reflections on Why, How, and
with What We Can Compare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
PERNILLE HERMANN Methodological Challenges to the Study of
Old Norse Myths: The Orality and Literacy Debate Reframed . . . 29
KATE HESLOP Framing the Hero: Medium and Metalepsis
in Old Norse Heroic Narrative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
JONAS WELLENDORF The Æsir and Their Idols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Part Two. LOCAL AND NEIGHBORING TRADITIONS
TERRY GUNNELL Blótgyðjur, Goðar, Mimi, Incest, and Wagons:
Oral Memories of the Religion(s) of the Vanir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
TORUN ZACHRISSON Volund Was Here: A Myth
Archaeologically Anchored in Viking Age Scania . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
OLOF SUNDQVIST The Temple, the Tree, and the Well:
A Topos or Cosmic Symbolism at Cultic Sites
in Pre-Christian Northern Europe? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
THOMAS A. DUBOIS The Mythic Sun: An Areal Perspective . . . . . . . 191
JOHN LINDOW Comparing Balto-Finnic and Nordic Mythologies . . 223
Table of Contents
Part Three. GLOBAL TRADITIONS
RICHARD COLE Snorri and the Jews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
MATHIAS NORDVIG Creation from Fire in Snorri’s Edda:
The Tenets of a Vernacular Theory of Geothermal Activity
in Old Norse Myth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
STEPHEN A. MITCHELL Óðinn, Charms, and Necromancy:
Hávamál 157 in Its Nordic and European Contexts . . . . . . . . . . . 289
JOSEPH FALAKY NAGY Vermin Gone Bad in Medieval Scandinavian,
Persian, and Irish Traditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
EMILY LYLE Baldr and Iraj: Murdered and Avenged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
MICHAEL WITZEL Ymir in India, China—and Beyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
vi
Ymir in India, China—and Beyond
Michael Witzel
Harvard University
Abstract: In examining the Old Norse mythological creation story about
Ymir, that is, the creation of the world from the body of a primordial
giant, from a broadly comparative perspective, this essay refers to a
variety of creation myths, some from Indo-European and some from
Chinese and Polynesian mythologies, and argues that a “Laurasian
myth” entailed the origin of the world from a pre-existing giant, a
myth, the author contends, with roots in Stone Age hunting cultures.
Introduction
In this paper, I partially employ the new theory of historical and comparative
mythology that leads to increasingly earlier reconstructions of mythological
systems, as laid out in my recent book, The Origins of the World’s Mythologies
(2012). My premise is that earlier forms of myths, especially those of Eurasia
and the Americas, can be compared and successfully reconstructed, resulting in
a unique story line from the beginning of the world to its end. Here I will use as
an e a ple of this theor the
ths of
ir Puru a and Pangu.
The myth about a primordial giant forms part of the creation myths, or as
we should rather say, in non-Judaeo-Christian terms: emergence myths. That of
the giant is found from Iceland to Southern China and beyond. It stands somewhat apart among the more common myths of a primordial Nothing, Chaos,
Darkness or Water. As such, it can perhaps lay claim to what Dumézil called a
bizarrerie, a feature that does not make much sense in the narrative in which it is
found, but as it turns out, goes back to a much older layer of myths.
In this myth, the primordial giant was in existence before the world
emerged: he was somehow killed and carved up, and his various body parts
became the origin of heaven and earth and even of humans.
Michael Witzel
The well-known prototype is the Germanic Ymir, who is slain, and from his
skull heaven is made; from his bones, the mountains; and so on. In the parallel
version of Old India, it is puru a (man) from whose body the various parts of
heaven and earth are created including hu ans ( gveda 10.90). In Old China
there is the quite similar myth of Pangu (P’an ku), which seems to derive, not
from the Han people of Northern China but from the Austric populations in
what is now Southern China. 1
Pri a facie the three a or
ths referred to those of Pangu Puru a and
Ymir, have no connection with each other, as they are located in very distant
regions and at various equally distant time periods: the Chinese case is attested
in the last few centuries BCE, the Indian one is found in a text composed a few
hundred years earlier (around 1000 BCE), and the Icelandic one more than 2000
years later, while many thousand miles separate their respective places of origin.
Puru a
The oldest version of the Puru a th is found in the gveda the first preserved
text of India. It is the poetic composition in archaic Sanskrit (Vedic) of traditional
bards following the convention of the Indo-Iranian, and even Indo-European,
poetic language and style. These bards roamed the northwestern Indian subcontinent and Afghanistan, while composing traditional hymns praising the deities.
They expected a gift from the local chieftains (“kings”) for their recitations,
which often included praise of the ancestors of the local magnate.
hen the pri ordial Puru a ( an) is carved up2 ( gveda 10.90.7) the
gods the S dh as 3 and the is (seers poets) o ered hi (Puru a) for
themselves […]
1
2
3
Austric refers to a large language family that includes Austroasiatic in India, S.W. China and S.E.
Asia as well as Austronesian that spread out of Taiwan to the Philippines, Indonesia, Madagascar
and to all of Pol nesia. or the Chinese th see ston 1896 1972: 33n2 Mathieu 1989. ecentl
a Chinese version of a continuous creation myth has been published: Hu Chongjun, (2002; cf.
China Daily ednesda
pril 3 2002 p. 9). This looks like an artificial co pilation intended
to provide China with a “creation myth”, which it is lacking; we only have fragments, adapted
to the rationalistic, Euhemeristic Confucian tradition. On the oldest Chinese myths, cf. David
Ha kes uoted in Barrett 1995: 72 f.: to arrive at so e archet pal r- th is a aste of ti e.
The Eocene ge of
th is unkno able
as e ork back ards
e find an even greater
number of groups and […] diversity”. However, for methods to address this welcome diversity,
see it el 2012: 2.3 and cf. Birrell 1993: 18 22 for reconstructing older for s of Chinese ths.
or a or sources of Chinese
th see ang and n 2005: 4 .
Cf. the discussion b Bau ann 1986: 144 .
A rather vague, little mentioned group of deities, apparently the ancestors of the current gods;
see uiper 1978 appendi .
364
Ymir in India, China—and Beyond
11. hen the portioned out Puru a in ho
an parts did the
fashion him? What are his mouth, arms, thighs, and feet called?
12. His mouth was the Brahmin, his arms were fashioned (into) the
noble an ( an a) his thighs ere the ai a 4 from his feet the
dra (serf) as born.
13. The moon has been born from his mind, the sun was born from his
eye; from his mouth was born Indra and Agni,5 and from his breath the
wind.
14. ro his navel there as the inter ediate space (at osphere)
from his head developed heaven, from his feet the earth, from his ears
the cardinal directions. Thus they fashioned the worlds.
16. ith sacrifice the gods o ered to sacrifice. These
for s (of sacrifice). ( 10.90.7 .
translation)
ere the first
Ymir
In Old Norse mythology, as recorded in the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda in
the 13th century,6 there was chaos at the time of the beginning of the world,
“a yawning abyss” (gap var ginnunga; Vǫluspá 3). Then the sea was created; as
ere Ni hei the land of clouds and fogs in the North and Muspelhei the
southern land of fire. Through the contact of ice fro the north and the ar
bree es fro the South a first being the pri ordial giant
ir as created.7
The Prose Edda o ers an e tensive version highlights of hich include:
Sv se segir
lusp : r var alda
gap var ginnunga en gras ekki
Sv se kalt st af Ni hei i ok allir hlutir gri
ir sv var allt
þat, er vissi námunda Múspelli heitt ok ljóst, en Ginnungagap var svá
hlætt sem lopt vindlaust. Ok þá er mœttisk hrímin ok blær hitans svá at
bráðnaði ok draup, ok af þeim kvikudropum kviknaði með krapti þess
er til sendi hitann, ok varð manns líkandi, ok var sá nefndr Ymir […]
Hann er illr ok allir hans tt enn. k llu v r hr
ursa.
4
5
6
7
Derived from vi the people . The tripartite division re ects the Indo-European social set-up
see Benveniste 1969: 65 79 and an
orks b . Du
il beginning in 1934 such as 1939
1959.
Two of the most prominent Vedic deities.
or a discussion of er anic
ths about creation see Puhvel 1987: 219.
Who was to be dismembered like the Indian puru a.
365
Michael Witzel
(As it says in Voluspa: It was at the beginning of time […] The mighty
gap as but no gro th
ust as fro Ni hei there arose coldness
and all things grim, so what was facing Muspell was hot and bright, but
Ginnungagap was as mild as a windless sky. And where the rime and
the blowing of the warmth met so that it thawed and dripped, there
as a uickening fro these o ing drops and due to the po er of
the source of the heat it became the form of a man, and he was given
the name of Ymir […] He was evil and all his descendants. We call them
frost-giants.)
Næst var þat, þá er hrímit draup, at þar varð af kýr sú er Auðhumla hét,
en fjórar mjólkár runnu ór spenum hennar, ok fœddi hon Ymi […] Hon
sleikði hrímsteinana […] þriðja dag var þar allr maðr. Sá er nefndr Búri
S nir Bors dr pu
i tun.
(The next thing when rime dripped was that that there came into being
fro it a co called udhu la and four rivers of ilk o ed fro its
teats, and it fed Ymir […] It licked the rime-stones […] the third day a
complete man was there. His name was Buri. He begot a son called Bor
[…] Bor’s sons killed the giant Ymir.)
En er hann fell, þá hljóp svá mikit blóð ór sárum hans at með því drektu
þeir allri ætt hrímþursa, nema einn komst undan með sínu hýski. Þann
kalla tnar Bergel i.
( nd hen he fell so uch blood o ed fro his ounds that ith it
they drowned all the race of the frost-giants, except that one escaped
with his household. Giants call him Bergelmir.)
eir t ku
i ok uttu
itt innungagap ok ger u af honu
r ina
af bl i hans s inn ok v tnin. r in var ger af holdinu en b rgin af
beinunu . r t ok ur ir ger u eir af t nnu ok
lu ok af ei
beinum, er brotin váru.
(They [Bor’s sons] took Ymir and transported him to the middle of
Ginnungagap, and out of him made the earth, out of his blood the sea
and the lakes. The earth as ade of the esh and the rocks of the
bones, stone and scree they made out of the teeth and molars and of
the bones that had been broken.)
T ku eir ok haus hans ok ger u ar af hi in ok settu hann upp fir
r ina e f ru skautu .
366
Ymir in India, China—and Beyond
(They also took his skull and made out of it the sky and set it up over
the earth with four points.)
Þá tóku þeir síur ok gneista þá er lausir fóru ok kastat hafði ór
Múspellsheimi, ok settu á miðjan Ginnungahimin bæði ofan ok neðan
til at l sa hi in ok r .
(Then the took the olten particles and sparks that ere
ing
uncontrolled and had shot out of the world of Muspell and set them in
the iddle of the fir a ent of the sk both above and belo to illu inate heaven and earth.)
eir t ku ok heila hans ok k stu u lopt ok ger u af sk in.
(They also took his brains and threw them into the sky and made out
of them the clouds.)8
Vǫluspá 3 4 19 in the Poetic Edda has this shorter version:
3
r var alda
vara sandr né sær
iorð fannz æva
gap var ginnunga
ar er
ir b g i
né svalar unnir;
né upphiminn,
en gras hvergi.
(Early in time Ymir made his settlement,
there was no sand nor sea nor cool waves;
earth was nowhere nor the sky above,
a void of yawning chaos, grass was there nowhere.)
4
r Burs s nir
þeir er miðgarð
sól skein sunnan
þá var grund gróin
bio u u
p o
mœran scópo;
á salar steina,
grœnum lauki.
(before the sons of Bor brought up the land-surface,9
those who shaped glorious Midgard;10
the sun shone from the south on the stone-hall,
then the ground was grown over with green leek.)
8
9
10
aulkes 1995: 9 11 Snorra edda pp. 9 11.
Burs synir (literally, “Burr’s sons”) refers to the gods, Óðinn, Vili, and Vé.
The earth of human beings, other than Ásgarðr (Asgard), of the gods, and the world of the giants.
367
Michael Witzel
19
sk veit ec standa heitir ggdrasill
hár baðmr, ausinn hvítaauri;
a an ko a d ggvar
stendr
fir gr nn
rs dala falla
r ar brunni.
(An ash I know that stands, Yggdrasill11 it’s called,
a tall tree, drenched with shining loam;
from there come the dews which fall in the valley,
green it stands over rd s ell.)12
The myth of carving up Ymir also occurs elsewhere in the Poetic Edda, in
Grímnismál 40:
40
r
is holdi
var ior of skǫpuð,
en ór sveita sær,
biorg ór beinum, baðmr ór hári,
en ór hausi himinn.
( ro
ir s esh the earth as created
and from his blood, the sea,
mountains from the bones, trees from this hair,
and from his skull, the sky.)13
The corresponding Old Indian h n fro the gveda (10.90) uoted above
often reads like a translation of the Norse text, or vice versa. Their close correspondence opens up the possibility that this is an old, Indo-European idea.14
This is strengthened b the closel related Old Norse
th of the god
inn
(Odin), who hung himself on the tree Yggdrasill for nine15 days and nights as
11
12
13
14
15
Literally, “Óðinn’s (Odin’s) horse”; Óðinn hung himself in its branches for nine days to receive
universal wisdom; cf. below.
Transl. Larrington 2014 cf. Orchard 2011. Urðar brunnr ( rd s ell) is said b Snorri to lie under
one of the three roots of Yggdrasill, but as Old Norse urðr means “fate”, Urðar brunnr can also
be translated as “the well of fate”. Urðr, one of the three norns, is almost always mentioned in
association with the well.
Larrington 2014: 4 . Orchard 2011: 57. cf. it el 2012: 109n28. Linguisticall
ir Old Indian
( edic) a a the brother of Manu ancestor of all hu ans see it el 2012: 119 n. 115 cf.
Tho pson 1993: Motifs 961.4. Mountains spring fro scattered parts of slain giant serpent s
bod India 961.5. Mountains (cli s) fro bones of killed giant Iceland.
For the description of the “canonical creature” visible in this myth, in sorcery (Merseburg
sorcer stan as tharvaveda etc.) and also else here see atkins 1995. or the Indo-European
narrative structure of the sorcer stan as see Thie e 1971: 202 12: a
thological narration or
poe is follo ed b the actual spell details in it el 1987.
Nine is the t pical nu ber of North sian sha anis although so e have co pared inn s
self-sacrifice ith that of Christ hich as ell kno n in Iceland b then.
368
Ymir in India, China—and Beyond
an o ering by himself to himself. This again has a Vedic parallel, in that “the gods
o ered the sacrifice ith the sacrifice ( 1.164.50 cf. 10.90.16 above).16
Descent of Ymir/Yama
A short excursus should be added here: in Norse myth, Ymir is one of the primordial beings, and the father of the giants (Prose Edda) and contemporaneous with
inn and his brothers thus deities of the current era.
The ancestry of Ymir’s linguistic counterpart in India and Iran, Yama/Yima,
ho ever di ers. Indo-Iranian Yama means “twin” and indeed he has a twin
sister, Yam . In the gveda a tries to seduce i a to produce children but
he refuses. In Iran, however, brother-sister incest (Avestan, xva tuuada a) was
sanctioned and co
on do n to the rab con uest in 650 CE. In India thus
early humans had to be created in another fashion.
Another brother of Yama, Manu, became the ancestor of humans (just as
Tacitus’ Mannus is for the western Germanic tribes). As no other female but his
sister a
as around then Manu had to fashion his ife out of clarified butter
(ghee). As the myth says, when she walks you still can see butter in her footsteps. Subsequently, Yama becomes the king of the netherworld and departed
humans, while his Iranian counterpart, Yima, is killed (sawn into two!) by his
brother Spitiiura.
Here we notice the typical repositioning of certain mythological persons
up and down on the family tree: Manu and Yama are descendants of the sun
deit
ivasvant (M rt
a) belonging to the 4th ( Ol pian ) generation of
gods, while Ymir has an undetermined, earlier and independent origin, while
interacting with one god of the current generation of deities, inn before the
emergence of humans (from Askr and Embla).17
Nuristani and Mediterranean reminiscences
There are a number of local South Asian reminiscences of this myth, for
e a ple in Nuristan ( afiristan) in Northeastern fghanistan and in neighboring Kashmir.18
16
17
18
or other Indo-European parallels ( ussian reek etc.) see Lincoln 1986: 1 .
Tree origin would be another one of Dumézil’s “bizarreries”. The origin of humans from trees
is otherwise very rare and mostly restricted to the “southerm” (Gondwana) mythologies of subSaharan frica (Bau ann 1936) and Sahul Land (Ne
uinea- ustralia) see it el 2012: 335 f.
Tho pson 1993: Motifs 642.1. Pri eval o an cut in pieces: houses etc. ade fro her
bod India 1724.1 1724.1. ni als fro bod of slain person India ho ever note 969.1.
Mountain fro buried giant India 1716.1. cf. also the initial section of the innish alevala
( it el 2004).
369
Michael Witzel
In ash ir a giant k asa de on as killed and an e bank ent as built
fro his re nants on the itast ( helu ) iver using his leg and knee.19 It is
called setu da
the odern Suth area at Srinagar (see it el 2012: 476n108).
The Nuristani ( afiri)
th is ore elaborate than the brief references
from medieval Kashmir.
A demon (Espereg-era) brings sun and moon into his house. The god
Mandi changes into a boy, and eventually he breaks the door. He puts
the Sun on his right shoulder, the Moon on his left, and rides out of the
house. The dark world becomes bright. Espereg-era follows them, but
Mandi cuts o all his seven heads drags hi to the right side of the
valley and covers him up.20
In o e the
thical founder figure o ulus kills his brother e us ProtoIndo-European e o-s representing the Indian a a and Old Iranian i a.21
Like e us i a is killed b his brother Spitiiura.22
In the Hebrew Bible, the myth of Cain and Abel may be compared, though
occurring in a di erent conte t that of o erings to ehovah. bel as a shepherd Cain a far er ehovah preferred the ani al sacrifice hence Cain killed his
rival brother bel ( enesis 4).
si ilar contest is seen bet een acob and Esau ( enesis 25). Esau as
a skillful hunter, while Jacob “dwelt in tents”, apparently as a herder. Once,
coming home rather hungry, Esau asked Jacob to feed him but the latter agreed
onl if Esau handed hi his birthright as firstborn hich as hat occurred.
A similar myth is found in Japan, however, again without the lethal outcome
of the clash between Cain and Abel. The contest between the divine elder Ho-wori
and the ounger Ho-deri ( o iki 1.42) does not lead to killing.23 Their father, the
pri ordial deit Ninigi gave Ho-deri a agic hook for fishing and his brother
Ho-wori a magic bow for hunting. Ho-deri became jealous of Ho-wori’s success
in hunting and proposed to exchange the paternal gifts, which was done. Both
were unsuccessful in their new pursuits and Ho-wori even lost the magic hook.
When Ho-deri asked his hook to be returned, it could not be found. The angry
Ho-deri threatened to kill his brother. Ho- ori ed to the ocean deit s palace
19
20
21
22
23
See Stein, R jatara gi 3.336 58 cf. 1.159 for ak a dikes.
See it el 2004 based on accounts of . Buddruss (field ork 1955 1956 2002) and ett ar
(1986).
See Du
il 1995: 289 . Puhvel 1987: 287 89.
Apparently Yama and Yima had committed some evil action. Yama became the Lord of the
Netherworld and the dead and Yima that of a similar underworld palace (Vara).
Philippi 1968: 148 co pares the tale to others in Indonesia the Marshall Islands and the
erican Pacific North est.
370
Ymir in India, China—and Beyond
under the sea, married his daughter, got the hook back and then returned home,
here Ho-deri attacked hi ho ever Ho- ori finall forgave hi .
One may also compare the ancient Mesopotamian creation of man from
mud and blood. According to the Enuma Elish, the gods decided that one of them,
Kingu, was to be killed so that humans could be created. Marduk killed Kingu,
i ed his blood ith cla and for ed the first hu ans. Like i a and a a
Kingu then lived in the Netherworld.24
Pangu
The myth of a primordial giant is also found in what is now Southern China,
fro
here it has entered the standard Old Chinese te ts (late first illenniu
BCE). It thus originally was not a Han but an Austric or Austro-Thai myth.25 The
pri ordial giant Pangu as cut up in a fashion si ilar to
ir and Puru a.26
The first version uoted here has close si ilarities ith the Tahiti
th of
Ta’aroa (see below), which is not surprising, given that both the Austro-Thai
and Austronesian language families originated in what is now Southern China.
24
25
26
27
28
1.
First there was the great cosmic egg.27 Inside the egg was Chaos, and
oating in Chaos as P an ku the undeveloped the divine e br o.
And P’an ku burst out of the egg […] with an adze in his hand with
which he fashioned the world […] He chiseled the land and sky apart.
He pulled up the mountains on the earth and dug the valleys deep,
and made courses for the rivers. High above ride the sun and moon
and stars in the sky where P’an ku placed them; below roll the four
seas […]28
2.
The orld as never finished until P an ku died
ro his skull
as shaped the do e of the sk and fro his esh as for ed the
soil of the fields fro his bones ca e the rocks fro his blood the
rivers and seas; from his hair came all vegetation. His breath was the
wind; his voice made thunder; his right eye became the moon, his
acobsen 1976: 181.
Austro-Tai is a hypothetical S.E. Asian language family that, other than Austric (see above n. 2),
includes ustronesian and the Tai- adai languages (such as Thai Shan etc.). Benedict 1990 even
wants to include (what at best can be called a substrate of) Japanese. For the myth see Mathieu
1989.
See M nke 1976: 254 f. ang and n 2005: 75 176 .
Note another translation of a similar text dating from the third century CE, taken from San Wu
li chi ( Three kings and five e perors ) b Hs Chen in Mair 1998: 14 cf. ang and n 2005: 65.
Note the concept of four real oceans, situated in the four cardinal directions; all four could,
of course, not have been known at the time of the composition of this myth. Cf. the “eastern,
estern and northern( ) sea in landlocked edic India ( tharvaveda 11.5.6).
371
Michael Witzel
left eye the sun.29 From his saliva or sweat came rain. And from the
vermin which covered his body came forth mankind.30
Austronesian Polynesia
Far away from the Indo-Europeans and China, the Polynesians—a seafaring
Austric people whose ancestors, ultimately, had emerged from Southern China
around 4000 BCE31 —speak of primordial emptiness and darkness. In the Maori
version (New Zealand), negation or nothingness (kore) gives birth to chaos or
darkness (po), and this, to rangi (heaven or sky).32
Another version, involving the primordial deity, Io,33 has the following
account:
Io dwelt within the breathing space of immensity.
The niverse as in darkness ith ater ever here.
There was no glimmer of dawn, no clearness, no light.
And he began by saying these words—
That he might cease remaining inactive:
“Darkness become a light-possessing darkness”.
And at once light appeared […]34
Then (he) looked to the waters which compassed him about,
and spake a fourth time, saying:
“The waters of Tai-kama, be ye separate.
29
30
31
32
33
34
Note that Pangu’s left eye became the sun, and his right eye, the moon. (One would expect the
opposite as the right side / hand is usually preferred). In Japan, too, the sun deity originated
fro the left e e of I anagi cf. Nau ann 1988: 65.
Sproul 1991: 201 2 (retold fro Macken ie 1925: 260 f. 247 f.) for a si ilar te t b Hs Cheng
Wu yün li-nien chi ( chronicle of five c cles of ti e ) see Mair 1998: 15. Cf. also Mathieu 1989 for
similar versions from the Yiwen leiju and Yishi, both referring back to the Sanwu liji of the third
century BCE.
For connections between Indian myths and those of Austric and some East Asian populations,
see Sergent 1997: 369 96 for a brief linguistic overvie of these areas including putative ho elands see van Drie 2006.
See Tregear 1969: 391. Note that the Pueblo-area
th of the uni
erindians is uite si ilar
also as regards the separation of ather Heaven and Mother Earth see Eliade 1992: 130 .
Io as pri ordial deit has been controversiall discussed see . . S ith 1982 ho believes that
Io has been invented at the end of the nineteenth centur under issionar in uence ho ever
it is typical that esoteric deities are known only to small groups of priests. (Note early Japan
for the pri ordial pair a urogi/ a uro i that appears not even in the o cial i perial
o iki
ths but onl in so e archaic Shint pra ers). Cf. the discussion in it el 2012: 126 27
131n213.
Cf. the Biblical and Maya myths, but note the old poetical style of this passage which excludes
issionar in uences. Stress on various t pes of darkness is also found in Maori
ths see
it el 2012: 109 .
372
Ymir in India, China—and Beyond
Heaven be formed”. Then the sky became suspended.
“Bring forth thou Tupua-horo-nuku”.
And at once the moving earth lay stretched abroad.35
In still another version, the Tahiti creator god is Ta’aroa (Maori Tangaroa,
Takaroa; Hawai’ian Kanaloa).36
Ta’aroa […] was his own parent, having no father or mother […] Ta’aroa
sat in his shell (pa’a) in darkness (te po) for […] ages […] The shell was
like an egg revolving in endless space, with no sky, no land, no sea, no
moons, no sun, no stars. All was darkness […]
But at last Ta’aroa […] caused a crack […] Then he slipped out and stood
upon his shell […] he took his new shell for the great foundation of the
orld
nd the shell
that he opened first beca e his house the
dome of the god’s sky, […] enclosing the world (ao) then forming […]
elated are the ( ustric) Borneo and ilipino
ths of the origin of ani als
37
fro di erent parts of the bod of a slain giant.
In Japan, whose ancient myths (in the Kojiki, Nihon Shoki) mostly relate to
those of the neighboring steppe areas of Asia, dismemberment is not a feature
of primordial creation, but it occurs after the violent death of the primordial
goddess I ana i. She as severel burned hile giving birth to the fire god
Hi.no agi-ha a- o.no ka i ( o iki 1.7).38 From her dead body were created
the eight thunders.39 Her consort I anagi then killed the fire god and fro
35
36
37
38
39
Translation fro Sproul 1991: 345 uoting Hare Hongi s A Maori Cosmology. Hare Hongi was a
prominent Maori priest at the turn of the 20th century (accused by Z. J. Smith of myth forgery;
see above n. 33).
This version as reliabl recorded t ice bet een 1848 and 1922 Eliade 1992: 88 cf. Sproul 1991:
249 .
Tho pson 1993: Motif 1716.1. ni als fro di erent parts of bod of slain giant. iant person
co o etc. Borneo Philippines: Di on 177.
In the eda M tari van s elling inside the other is a secret na e of the fire deit
gni.
Note that gni is born three ti es: in heaven on earth (in ritual) and in the aters gveda
3.20.11 10.45.1 (so eti es he also is found garbho rodasyo , “in the earth”). There are several
fire gods in apan: the one entioned above and then others born fro the deca ing bod of
I ana i. The first fire god is killed b I anagi in revenge for burning her (cf. gni s repeated
death, explained in Vedic texts as burning up in ritual). Izanami’s burn injuries and subsequent
death could then re ect the ritual production of fire b drilling it (as is still done at i portant
Shint and edic rituals).
This is somewhat reminiscent, as Japanese mythologists have pointed out, of the myth of
Hainu ele Coconut branch (in Cera Ne
uinea) cf. Eliade 1992: 18. This
th has been
studied in detail b ensen 1979 no. 11 s
1948: 113 f.: Hainu ele had gro n fro a coconut
tree, furthered by the blood from the wound of a man, and quickly grew into a woman; she was
killed by local people during the great maro festival (cf. Ca pbell 1989: II.1: 70 .) and buried in
373
Michael Witzel
his blood various deities were created. This constitutes a general trend that is
continued by the creation of many other deities from the various polluted parts
of the dress and bod of I anagi at the great purification carried out upon his
return from the Netherworld where he went, Orpheus-like, to meet his departed
wife Izanami.
Di ering ho ever fro the other Eurasian
ths the various parts of
Izanami’s or Izanagi’s body do not become parts of the universe. In fact, most
of the constituent parts of the universe, in particular, all the islands of Japan, as
well as many deities of the sea, the waters and rivers, the wind, the mountains,
the plains, the land, and so on, had already been born by Izanami.
Connections between India and South China?
The Puru a
th of old India clearl has Indo-European connections in Iceland
and Anatolia (see below) and some other reminiscences,40 however, the SinoIndian connection may have been reinforced in India by a corridor linking
Austric myths in Southwestern China and Northern India, between Yunnan
and Assam. There are some indications of an old link between the two areas,41
long before the rather di cultl passed southern Silk oad (fro
unnan to
Assam) was established.
Indeed, both areas share a number of myths such as that of the turtle
supporting the earth or the origin of certain t pes of hu an beings ( i
tara ana) fro a gourd found onl in the late edic Taittir a ra aka 2 or
epic heroes and Chinese “emperors” who have been born from gourds (or eggs,
as also with the Munda people of Eastern India).42
It is interesting to note that such si ilarities e cept for Puru a/Pangu are
not found in the oldest Indian te ts but first co e up onl in a late la er of the
Vedas, and subsequently in Epic and Puranic texts: they “bubble” up from the
local substrate and get o ciall accepted onl after an centuries.
The similarity between Southern Chinese (Austric) and Indian myths may
have been due to an old substrate underlying the myths of both areas.43
While this is an interesting line of speculation that would have to be
substantiated by future research, I must leave it at that here.
40
41
42
43
pieces; from her several graves grew various plants, especially tubers. Her arms were made into
a gate: all men who could pass through it remained human; those who could not, became various
animals or spirits.
Cf. also above on o e ( e us).
See Sergent 1997.
Cf. also Sergent 1997. or ore on the gourd origins of Mah bh rata heroes see Berger 1959.
Cf. Sergent 1997 it el 2012: 230.
374
Ymir in India, China—and Beyond
Hittite and East Asian tales of rocks
The hypothetical Austric/South Chinese connections of Indian myth are,
however, balanced by another version of the tale of the primordial giant that is
found in Hittite, and thus Indo-European texts of roughly the same time as the
gveda actuall a fe hundred ears before its co position. et as so uch in
Hittite myth and ritual, the tale goes back to previous Hatti and Hurrite texts.44
The Hittite
th is a so e hat aberrant version in hich lliku
i
stands on a pri ordial giant of stone pelluri.45 It may be compared to the
Austronesian story (Taiwan, Polynesia) of a preexisting rock,46 from which
humans frequently emerge.
In Japan, the large rock pillar at Shingu (Kii Peninsula), now representing
the primordial god Izanagi, is worshipped rather than the deities in the adjacent
Shint shrine.47
Note also that in Chinese
th
the first king of the earl Hsia d nast
was born from his father, Kun, who had turned into stone. This occurred after
his execution by the High God, because he had stolen the magic “swelling mold”,
b hich one could build da s to ste the pri ordial ood (covering Northern
China). Yü was born when his father’s belly was cut open after three years.48
Si ilarl Ch i the son of this legendar first Hsia king as also born fro a
rock: his mother, Tu Shan, had changed into a rock when she was frightened by
her husband, Kun, who had changed into a bear.49
Conclusion
Hypothetical connections between Southwest China and North India apart, we
have widely scattered evidence of the myth of a primordial giant, whether it
44
45
46
47
48
49
The Hatti were a pre-existing local population in the Hittite realm, from which the Hittites took
over many myths and rituals: some of them are transmitted in Hatti language in Hittite docuents. The Hurrites originall ste
ed fro the Caucasus area and are related to the rartu
people the beca e the southern neighbors of the Hittites in Northern S ria/Ira and in uenced them as well.
Colarusso 2006: 32 urne 1976: 192 Haas 1982 Puhvel 1987: 25 f.
Personal observation in ustronesian T aitung Tai an 2005. See Tho pson 1993 Motif 644.
niverse fro pre-e isting rocks. Originall rocks are assu ed and ever thing is ade fro
the . Sa oa: Di on 17.
Personal observation ebruar 1990. On the other side of the valle there is another rock ith
a vulva-like cavity; it represents Izanagi’s wife, Izanami.
Chang 1983: 10 and Bodde 1961: 399.
Chang 1983: 10. Note the role of the bear as ulti ate ancestor in orean
th at the
thical
ti e of c. 2500 BCE described in Samguk Yusa.
375
Michael Witzel
was locally conceived as made of stone (Anatolia/Caucasus) or emerging from
chaos ( ir Puru a) or fro a pri ordial egg (Pol nesia/China).
Taking all the evidence together and tracing it back to the area of origin of
the populations and languages involved, we get:
Indo-European area ( ir Puru a): steppe belt probabl in the Pontic
area north of the Black Sea c. 3000 4000 BCE50
Anatolia and Hurrite: neighboring Caucasus area c. 2000 BCE
Chinese: with southern non-Han minorities, attested only in the later
1st millennium BCE
Southeast Asia/Polynesia: emerging from Taiwan and neighboring
(non-Han) ainland China c. 4000 BCE.
In sum, we have two old foci that are distant from each other by thousands of
miles and a few thousand years: one in the western steppe/Caucasus belt and
one in what is now South China. The two are not directly connected (forgetting
about Heine-Geldern’s great Pontic migration),51 and must go back to a much
older pre-horticultural origin, in short, to a Paleolithic pattern.
In sum, there is fairly widespread evidence for an archaic Eurasian myth
that entailed the origin of the world from a preexisting giant, sometimes made
of stone. The carving up of the primordial giant may represent a very old
stage of (Laurasian) mythology,52 going back to the times of Stone Age hunters.53 The giant ould then be a re ection of the hunted or killed ani als that
were carved up in a similar way, one that could be seen until recently in the
Northern European (Saa i) North sian and inu bear sacrifice.54 The bones of
such animals must not be cut or cracked and were preserved intact (like Þórr’s
[Thor’s] ram) as to allow their rebirth (in heaven or in this world).55
50
51
52
53
54
55
See no D. nthon and D. inge 2015.
Heine- eldern 1951.
or the ter s see above and it el 2012: 4 5 and passim.
There even is a slight chance that the myth may already have been a Neanderthal one (if they had
speech as it see s possible no ): bear o erings head separated are idel found (though so e
have been e plained as accidental due to ooding in caves) for illustrations see Ca pbell 1988:
I.1: 54 . lso a Stone ge bear figure ith head still attached has been found at Montespan
(Ca pbell 1988: I.1: 62) as ell as a bear skull clearl in an earl Ho o Sapiens conte t on
an “altar” in the undisturbed Chauvet Cave (Southwest France) that is to be dated at 32,000
years ago.
See the pictorial evidence in Ca pbell 1988: I.2: 152 . cf. ba ashi and laproth 1966 for
Sakhalin Island.
or the edic custo s see it el 1987 cf. the tale of Þórr’s ram whose body is reconstituted from
his bones, and similarly the role of astuuant (bone having [life]) in Zoroastrian texts (Avesta).
Note also the Achaemenid-period rebirth of humans from their graves referred to in the Hebrew
Bible (Daniel 12.2). See further Tho pson 1993 Motifs 1724.1. ni als fro bod of slain
376
Ymir in India, China—and Beyond
hile the er anic and edic
ths of
ir and Puru a a thus go back
to Proto-Indo-European mythology,56 the Austric, Austronesian, Polynesian, and
Hittite versions represent other traditions.
These myths were, however, no longer told by ancient hunters and gatherers, but by members of the subsequent food-producing societies.57 In sum,
they are reminiscences of a much earlier stage of culture—and of mythology.
Thus, they are fairly isolated and “bizarre” in the respective mythologies of the
Indo-Europeans and East Asians.
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380
Index
[Note: Entries beginning with ‘Þ’ are grouped at the end of this index.]
Abbo of Fleury, 304
Adalvard the Younger (bishop of
Sigtuna), 167
Adam of Bremen, 128–130, 163–182
Æsir (æsir), 42, 90, 102, 113–14,
121–22, 124, 127–28, 130, 194,
196, 227, 229, 233, 243, 251–54,
272, 291–92
Afghanistan, 364, 369
Albertus Magnus (fl. 1245), 245
Alexander of Lamprecht der Pfaffe
(ca. 1130), 256
Alken Enge, Jutland, Denmark, 294
alliteration, 199–200, 226
Alvíssmál, 74, 193–94, 215
Alþing, 128
Analogy, 8, 70, 233, 269, 276,
280–81, 284
Annales Regii, 271
anthropology, anthropologist(s),
10, 30, 36; anthropological
parallels, xvi
Antichrist, Der (1480), 262
anti-metalepsis, 67, 79, 81
Anund Jacob (Swedish king), 167
archaeology, archaeologist(s), 6, 8,
30, 95, 122, 129–30, 139–40,
143, 147, 149, 169, 172, 177–81,
215–16, 218, 226, 273–74, 280,
289, 294, 302
archetype, 5, 22
Ardeshir (Persian king), 330, 334, 337
Ariovistus (Germanic leader), 18
art, artist(s), 54, 63, 67, 70, 79, 262
artifact(s), artifactual, 6, 40, 54–55, 68,
179, 181, 217
Asdiwal, myth of, 10
Áslaug, 325, 331, 333, 337
Assmann, Jan, 17, 79, 344
Astaroð, 93
Atlakviða, 75
Atlamál, 75
Auðr hin djúpúðga (Auðr the DeepMinded), 344–45
Aurgelmir, 282–84
Australian aboriginals, myths of, 274
Austrfararvísur, 115
Austric populations, 364, 372
avenger, 233, 341, 348, 349–50,
352–53, 355–57
Avestan, 369
axial age, 17; religions, 18
Ælfric. See Marcarius and the
Magicians, Saul and the Witch
of Endor
Baldr/Balderus, 45, 140, 228, 229,
233, 248, 250–51, 253, 276, 342,
347–54, 357,
Baldrs draumar, 291, 293, 298, 309,
349, 353
Index
Balkans, 148
Barthólómeus saga postula, 93
Bellah, Robert, 17–21
Bergbúa þáttr, 280
bergbúi ‘mountain-dweller’, 283
Bergelmir, 283
Bestla, 347
Bible passages: I Chronicles, 168;
(Deutero-)Isaiah, 91; Exodus, 91;
Genesis, xiv, 194, 370; Jeremiah,
91–92; Mark, 303; Matthew, 303,
333; Psalms, 91–92; Romans,
245; I Samuel, 303; Wisdom of
Solomon, 91
“Biejjie-baernien såangoe Jeahnaj
eatnamisnie” (North Sámi
‘Beaivvi bártni soagnju
Jiehtanasaid máilmmis’) (The
Sons of the Sun in the Land of
the Giants), 207–8
“Biejjie-neijten sealadimmie” (North
Sámi ‘Beaivvi Niedda jápmin’)
(The Death of the Daughter of
the Sun), 208
birds, 64, 68–70, 142, 148, 205, 247;
augural, 353
bizarrerie (ativism reflecting older
mythic layer), 364, 369
blót (sacrifice), 93, 94, 98, 100–102,
117, 119–20, 122, 124, 128, 177,
246. See also sacrifice.
blótgyðjur ‘sacrifice priestess’, 117, 122
blóttré ‘sacrificial tree’, 177
boar(s), 118, 147
bones, 144, 145, 149–50, 177, 293, 364,
366, 368, 371, 376
book-prose theory, 29, 31, 33, 35
book-prose vs free-prose debate,
31–46
Borre style, 142
bracteate(s), 70, 71, 140, 145, 216
Bragi Boddason, 120, 232
bridal quest (motif R225), 203–5, 208
382
Brunhilde (queen), 175
bull, 121
Bundahis (Pahlavi cosmological text),
354–55
Byzantine Empire, 143, 151
Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae
(Ordinances concerning Saxony),
175
Celebremus karissimi, 305
central place(s), 126, 143, 151, 155,
178, 179
Ch’i (son of legendary first Hsia king),
375
Charlemagne, 175; campaign of,
against the pagan Saxons, 176
charm(s), charm magic, 204, 208,
226–227, 289–290, 292–294, 299,
302, 308–9, 330, 336
Charon’s obol, 289, 302, 305–6
China, 18, 271, 350, 364, 371, 372,
374–376
Christianization, 8, 90, 94, 99, 105,
143, 217–218, 244, 264, 305
Chronica Slavorum of Helmold of
Bosau, 181
I Chronicles. See under Bible passages.
Cian, 326–328, 330, 334, 335–336
Clermont runic casket (also known as
the Franks casket), 78, 152
cnuimh (‘worm’ in Irish, variant of
cruimh), 326, 330
Commentariorum in Hiezechielem of St.
Jerome, 256,
communication, 29, 38, 40, 42, 115;
between ‘this’ world and the
‘other’ world(s), 11; oral, 42, 44;
strategies, 17; with the dead, x
comparativism(s), 4–5, 10, 14, 341;
icongraphic method of, 70;
méthode comparative, vii; Mircea
Eliade’s views on, 4–5; and structural models as heuristic tools
for reconstructing traditions, 4
Index
comparison(s), 3–19, 23, 54, 78; of
Baldr’s death and Iraj’s, 341–357;
of Balto-Finnic poetry and West
Germanic poetry, 225–226; of
Finnic and Nordic mythology,
192–219, 224–235; of Hawaiian
and Nordic mythology, 19–23;
of Ilmarinen and the Wayland
tradition, 232; of Old Uppsala and
West Slavic materials, 163–82;
of pictorial representations of
Volund, 155; of Vanir gods to
other gods, 115, 130; of volcanic
activity and Old Norse literature,
273–281; of ‘worms’, 334
composition-in-performance, 32
Conán (the son of the Liath Luachra),
326–329, 334–336
Conciliorum Oecumenicorum Decreta
(Decrees of the Ecumenical
Councils), 244
Concilium Germanicarum, 175
Concilium Turonense, 175
contextualization of performance
practices, 36
conversion. See Christianization
cosmic: birth, 348; egg, 371; elements,
168; hall, 182; knowledge, 230;
model, 182; pillar, 176–178; references, 167; symbolism, 168, 173,
177, 180; travel, 204, 206; well,
174
creation myth(s). See myth(s).
cross(es), 66, 155, 193, 206, 213;
Halton and Leeds, 69; Kirk
Andreas, Isle of Man, 79, 81
cult, cultic, 7, 94, 217–218; activities,
166; feasting, 169, 179; figures,
89–90, 95, 97, 100–101, 103, 105;
functions, 172; hall(s), 172, 178;
houses (hof, hǫrgar), 143–148, 155,
177, 179, 182; image(s), 176; practices, 91, 94, 102; site(s), 166–167,
169, 173, 175, 176, 178, 181–82;
spring(s), 178; tree(s), 176–178;
well(s), 178. See also ritual
cultural diffusion, 199–200, 215;
memory, 53; studies, 30
dainas: Latvian, 204, 209–210, 212, 214
Dala-Guðbrandr, 95
Dante Alighieri (d. 1321), 245
De Bello Gothico (Gothic War) of
Procopius, 150
De Lapidibus (On Stones) of Marbod of
Rennes, 307
dead, the, 14, 69, 144, 205, 234, 290,
291, 293–294, 299–300, 303,
305–310, 344, 345
decapitation, 303–4
Decreta. See Conciliorum
Oecumenicorum Decreta
Dejbjerg, Jutland, Denmark, 125
demon(s), 92–94, 97–98, 175, 275, 370
demon-king, 350
Denmark, Danish, 60–61, 71, 78,
90, 99, 116, 125, 129, 143, 149,
167, 172, 181, 302, 304, 307, 330,
332, 353
Derrida, Jacques, 54
descent, 21, 149, 263, 337, 369
Descriptio insularum aquilonis
(Description of the Islands of
the North), Book 4 of Gesta
Hammaburgensis, 164
(Deutero-)Isaiah. See under Bible
passages
devils. See demons
diachronism, 342, 357; diachronic and
synchronic approaches, 44–46
dialogic poems, 34, 126
Diarmaid, 324, 326–29, 334–36
diegetic level, 79; extradiegetic
narrator, 71; extra- and intradiegetic worlds, 67
Dievs (Latvian sky god), 210
diffusion, 29, 199–200, 215, 218
383
Index
Dinkard (Pahlavi Zoroastran text), 354
Dioscuri (twin brothers of GrecoRoman mythology), 215–16
direct speech, 73–76
dísablót, 128
Dísarsalr, 128
discourse: as concept, 15, 23; religious, 6, 90, 94; meta-discourse,
54; Óðinn-discourse, 15–16;
textual discourse, 73; Þórrdiscourse, 15
Divina Commedi (Divine Comedy) of
Dante Alighieri, 245
draugadróttinn ‘Lord of Ghouls’, 292
drinking, ceremonial, 143, 171
dróttkvætt, 33, 280
earth-egg creation myth. See under
cosmic
earthquake(s), 254, 276
East Anglia, England, 140, 304
Ecclesia, 246
edda. See eddic poems and Snorra edda
eddic poems, 30, 31, 32–34, 40–41,
73, 120, 122, 130, 215, 225–26;
aesthetics of, 32; composition-inperformance of, 32; dating of, 32;
improvisation of, 33; medieval
collection of (i.e., Codex Regius
of the Elder edda, Poetic edda),
33, 41, 44, 53–54, 69, 79, 118, 227,
230, 234, 253, 255, 365, 367, 368;
memorization of, 33; oral background of, 33; provenance of, 32.
See also titles of individual poems
Egill (Volund’s brother), 142, 148, 153
Egill Skalla-Grímsson, 227
Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar, 227
Egyptians, 18, 306; Egyptian art,
frames on, 55; Egyptian literature, 72
einherjar (slain human heroes), 171
Eiríks saga rauða, 299
Eiríksmál, 126
384
ekphrasis, 40
Eldgjá, 270
Eliade, Mircea, 4–5, 9, 11, 23, 168
Elijah, 256
Ella (king of England), 333, 337
Elucidarius, 256
emergence myth. See under myth(s)
Enarrationes in Psalmos (Expositions on
the Psalms) of St. Augustine, 246
Endor, witch of, 303
Enlightenment, the, 91
Enoch, 256
Enuma Elis (Babylonian creation
myth), 371
epic(s): 200, 202, 228, 355; Estonian,
199; Finnish, 199, 224–25; heroic,
79, 374; Indian, 374; Persian, 341,
345, 352, 355
Epitome of Roman History of Florus,
294n11
estate(s), royal. See central place(s)
ethnopoetics, 34
euhemerism, 246
Everriculum fermenti veteris of Erik
Pontoppidan, 90
evolution of religion. See religion
Exodus. See under Bible passages
Eyjafjallajökull (volcano), 270
Eyrbyggja saga, 118, 120, 292
Eyvindr skáldaspillir Finnsson, 356
Fáfnir, 56, 64, 66–68
Fáfnismál, 127
famine, 171, 271–72
Feldber. See under sanctuary
Fenian cycle, 324
Feraydun, 341, 346, 350–53, 354, 357
Ferdowsi, Abolqasem, 341
Ferryman’s Fee, 290, 305–6, 308
fettering, 230, 353–55; of Loki and
Zaddak, 353–55
feud(s), 146, 348–50, 357
fian (band of heroes), 326, 328
figurative interpretation, 245
Index
Finland, 151, 192, 199–200, 202–3, 205,
215, 223–27, 229–30, 232–35
Finnish Literature Society
(Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden
Seura), 199
fire(s), 69, 73, 96, 99, 120, 126, 146,
172, 193–94, 230, 231, 254,
269–72, 275–77, 280, 283–84,
296–97, 328, 350, 365, 373
lnir 356
folk songs, 192, 199–205, 209–12, 215,
224–28, 230
folklore, 6, 30, 35–36, 217, 273
folktale(s), 7, 231
Fourth Lateran Council, 244
frame: as ‘non-physical boundary’,
54; as physical border (parergon),
54, 58
frame narrative, 54; open, 56, 63;
portal, 60–61; unframed, 58, 80
Franks casket. See Clermont runic
casket
Frazer, Sir James George, 5, 23, 125
Frederick II (emperor), 252
free-prose theory, 29, 31, 33
Freyfaxi (horse in Hrafnkels saga), 117
Freyja, 115, 118, 121, 122, 127, 140,
298; as blótgyðja (sacrificial
priestess), 117, 122
Freyr, 21, 94, 98, 115–27, 140, 165, 168,
170, 177, 234–35, 356; Freyr kings
as ‘peace kings’, 21; Freysgoðar
(Hrafnkell Hallfreðarson; Þórðr
Özurarson), 116
Frigg, 122, 127, 347
Frösön church, Jämtland (earlier
called Hoffs kirkio), 177–78
gallows, 295–97, 301; placement of,
296
Ganander, Christfrid, 224, 230–32
Gangleri (pseudonym for Gylfi,
Swedish king), 41–42, 253, 276
Garz (temple site), 180
Gautreks saga, 296
Geertz, Clifford, 10
Geirrøðr, 231
Genesis. See under Bible passages
genetic comparativism. See comparativism
Genette, Gérard, 71–72
Gennep, Arnold van, 125
Geometric Period. See Greek
Geometric period
geothermal activity, 269–70, 273–77,
281, 284
Gerðr, 126–27, 356
Gesta Danorum of Saxo Grammaticus,
30, 45, 113, 127, 298, 302, 309,
323, 341
gesta episcoporum (‘the deeds of
bishops’): genre of, 164
Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae
pontificum (History of the
Archbishops of HamburgBremen) of Adam of Bremen,
128, 163–173; Leiden manuscript
(Cod. Voss. Lat. 4º 123), 164. See
also Adam of Bremen
gesture(s), 42; hand, 42–44; in Codex
Upsaliensis, 43–44
Getica of Jordanes, 150
ghouls, 292–93
Ginnungagap, 277–78, 280, 365–66
Gísla saga Súrssonar, 34, 113, 116
Glaðsheimr, 170
Glomac (possible sacrificial site), 181
goðar, 116–17; blótgoðar, 122
Goðormr (god of the Danes), 94
Gospel of Nichodemus (apocryphal
gospel), 248
Gotlandic picture stones. See under
runestones and picture stones
Göttweiger Trojanerkrieg, Der, 263
Grænlendinga saga, 299
385
Index
Gráinne (daughter of Cormac, the
high-king of Ireland), 324, 326,
329, 335
Grani (Sigurðr’s horse), 66, 68–69, 71
Greco-Roman philosophical tradition,
91
Greek Geometric period (ca. 900–700
BCE), 56
Gregory I (pope, also known as ‘the
Great’), 175, 250–51
Gregory IX (pope), 244
Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar, 298
Gríma, 331
Grímnismál, 73, 117, 120, 126, 127,
170–71, 173, 197, 215, 281–82,
297, 368
Grógaldr, 291, 298
Groß Raden (possible sanctuary site),
180
Gudme, Fyn, Denmark, 172
Gudmund (Norwegian idol), 89–90,
104
Guðrúnarhvǫt, 75–76
Guðrúnarkviða I, 69, 75
guldgubber, 70
Gunnarr Gjúkason, 338; in the snake
pit, 140
Gunnarr helmingr, 98
Gunnars þáttr helmings, 21, 115, 117,
126, 127
Guta saga, 124
Gutzkow (temple site), 180
Gylfaginning, 42, 102, 103, 127, 150,
170–71, 173, 194, 197, 232, 234,
281–82, 284, 291, 341
Hadingus, 15–16, 298
Haftv d 329 30 334 336 37
hagiographic texts, 92, 94–95, 101
Haithabu (also Hedeby), 18
Hákon Hákonarson (king), 257
Hákon Sigurðarson (earl, often
referred to as Jarl Hákon), 99–100
Hákonar saga góða, 119
386
Hákonarmál, 126
Háleygjatal of E vindr sk ldaspillir
Finnsson, 356
Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka, 296
Hallb rn hali (poet) 300
Hallmundarkviða, 270, 273, 280–81, 283
Hamðismál, 75
Hár, 41–42, 232, 253, 276, 277
Haraldr hárfagri (king), 151
Haralds Biezais, 209, 211
Harthgrepa, 298–99, 309
Hatti texts, 375
haugbúi, haugbúar ‘mound-dweller(s)’,
297–98, 300–301, 309
Hauks þáttr Hábrókar, 125
Hauksbók, 116
Hávamál, 74, 174, 289, 291, 294–97,
299, 302, 303, 307–10
Hawaii, 19; traditional Hawaiian
society, 19–22
Hebrew Bible, 72, 370
Hegge, Norway: one-eyed figure from
church in, 300
Heimdallr, 35, 226
Heimskringla. See individual saga titles
Hekla, 270–71, 279
Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar, 118
Helgakviða Hundingsbana I, 74, 75
Helgö, Lake Mälaren, Sweden, 148,
151, 172, 178
Helmold of Bosau (author of Chronica
Slavorum), 180–81
Hephaistos (Greek god), 152
Herder, Johann Gottfried von, 199,
224
Hermóðr, 248
Hermóðr’s Helreið, 248
hero, 54, 67, 69, 202–5, 209, 227, 301,
324–26, 337, 355; astral hero, 214;
culture hero, 204
heroic legend, 53, 54, 56, 78, 80;
heroic narrative, 53–54, 68,
76–77, 79; ‘heroic Edda’, 79;
Index
Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, 118, 177
Hevaa, Kaprio, Ingria, 201
hierophany, 5
Historia de Preliis Alexandri Magni
(History of the Battles of
Alexander the Great) of Leo
Neapolitaniensis, 256, 257
Historia Scholastica of Peter Comestor,
256
history of religions, 4–5, 10, 13
Hittite myths, 375
H r 229 347 350 353 54 356 as
a e ish reference 248 H r/
Høtherus, 348
Hœnir, 291
hǫrgar, 94, 121–22
hofeiðr’ ‘hof-oath’, 119
hofgyðjur, 122; Þuriðr ‘hofgyðja’,
116–17; Steinvör ‘hofgyðja’, 117
Hólar, Iceland, 39
horse(s), 103, 117–18, 120, 166, 196,
211, 212, 215, 260, 293; in relation
to the Vanir, 117; Freyfaxi, 117
Hrafnkell Hallfreðarson (‘Freysgoði’),
116
Hrafnkels saga Freysgoða, 113, 116–17,
118
Husaby, Västergötland, Sweden, 305
Hushang (legendary king in the
Shahnameh), 346
Hvergelmir, 173–74, 276–77, 281–83
Hymiskviða, 74, 102, 281
Hyndluljóð, 118, 121–22, 291, 298
Iceland, 7, 39, 43, 78, 100, 102, 103,
116, 118, 122, 125, 130, 155,
168, 218, 225, 227, 234, 250,
264, 269–84, 295, 308, 349, 363,
374, Icelanders, 115–119, 284,
Icelandic chieftain, 30; Icelandic
oral tradition, 113; Icelandic
place names, 117, 119; Icelandic
sagas (See sagas); Icelandic settlement, 7, 116, 119, 125, 272, 344;
Icelandic skalds, 30, 195
iconographic methods, 53, 70, 79
iconography, Christian, 303; runestone, 63
idols(s), 89–101, 103–5, 171, 180; idolatry, 91–95, 101, 104
Illerup Ådal, Jutland, Denmark, 18
Ilmarinen (god of the heavens), 202,
228, 231–32, 235
image(s), 38, 40–42, 45, 56, 90–91,
92, 98, 100, 124, 125, 171, 174,
176, 192, 193–94, 196–98, 200,
203, 205–6, 208–9, 213–17, 246,
262–64, 270, 273–74, 276–84, 289,
295, 297, 300, 302–3, 333
India, 35, 257, 364, 369, 374, 375;
Indian hymn, 368; Indian Yama,
370
Indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum
(Index of Superstitions and
Pagan Practices), 175
Indo-Europeans, 4, 14, 202, 227,
324, 342, 344, 347, 353, 356–57,
363–64, 368, 370, 372, 374, 375,
376–77
Ingi Steinkelsson (Swedish king), 177
initiation, 151, 152, 155, 296
inquit, 73, 75, 76
Iraj (legendary character in the
Shahnameh), 341, 346, 350–52, 355
Iran, 369
Ireland, 324, 326
Irish analogs, 331; derbfine, 344; tradition, 324, 325–26, 335; cnuimh/
cruimh, 330
Irminsul, 176, 178
Isaiah, (Deutero-)Isaiah. See under
Bible passages.
Isis (Egyptian goddess), 218
Isle of Man. See Man, Isle of
Ívarr inn beinlaussi, 332–33
Jacobus de Voragine, 304
Jafnhár, 41, 42, 102
387
Index
Jamshid (legendary king), 346, 350,
352–53, 355
Järfälla, Sweden, 304
Järrestad, Scania, 179
Jeremiah. See under Bible passages
Jews, 243–64; blood libel against,
244; gyðingr, 247; Judaism and
anti-Judaism, 244–47, 263; júði,
247; massacres of, 244; pogroms
against, 244; ‘Red Jews’, 253–63;
special clothing or badges, 244;
‘Synogaga’ as blind, 248
Jokkmokk, Sweden, 207
Jóns saga ins helga, 39
Jordanes, 150
jǫtunn, jǫtnar ‘giant(s)’, 229, 233, 252,
277, 280, 282–84, 366
Joukavainen (giant), 230–31
Judaism. See Jews
Judei Nostri (Anglo-Norman text), 252
Jüngere Titurel, Der of Albrecht von
Scharfenburg, 256
Kalevala, Old (Kalevala taikka wanhoja
karjalan runoja suomen muinosista
ajoista), 227–28
Kalevala, 192–93, 199, 224, 228–34;
meter, 192
Kalevipoeg, 199
Kárr inn gamli (mound-dweller), 298
Káruljóð, 74
Kashmir, 369–70
Katla (volcano), 271–73
Kayumars, 346
kefli ‘rune stick’, 299, 302, 308, 309
Kiimasjärvi, 204
Kingu (Mesopotamian god), 371
Kinsarvik Church, Norway: antependium, 248–49
Kirk Andreas cross fragments, 79–80
Kjalnesinga saga, 120
Klamath tribe, 274
Konung Alexander, 257–61
Konungs skuggsjá, 257, 276, 279
388
Kráka (Crow), 325, 331–33, 337
Kristnitökuhraun, 273
Ku (Hawaiian god), 20–21
Kuhn, Thomas, 9
Kumlbúa þáttr, 298
Kun (of Hsia dynasty), 375
Kuutar, moon as a female deity in
some Balto-Finnic songs, 204
Kvikkjokk, Sweden, 207
Laki (volcano), 270, 271–72, 279
Lamprecht der Pfaffe, 256
landnám (settlement period), 113, 218,
271–72, 275
Landnámabók, 113, 116–18, 125, 130,
271, 275
landscape(s), 113, 122–26, 149, 172,
210, 270–71; as expressions of
cosmology, 167, 169
lapidary tradition, 307–8
Lateran Council, Fourth. See Fourth
Lateran Council
Latvia, x, 181, 192, 213; dainas
(see under dainas); Latvian
tradition(s), 192, 194, 197, 204,
209–14
lava, 270–84
laws, 79, 169, 244, 260, 275, 304,
308; Icelandic, Grágás, 295–96;
Icelandic, Úlfljótslög (Law of
Úlfljótr), 119–20; Langobardic,
Leges Langobardorum (Lombard
Laws), 175; Norwegian,
Eiðsifa ingslǫg: ristinn r ttr hinn
forni (Law of Eiðsivaþing: Older
Christian Law), 100; Norwegian,
Frosta ingslǫg (Law of Frostaþing),
308; Norwegian, Gulaþingslög
(Law of Gulaþing), 124; Swedish,
Upplandslagen (Law of Uppland),
128; Swedish, Västgötalagen
(Westgötha laws), viii
law-speaker(s), 43
Leach, Edmund, 10
Index
Legenda aurea of Jacobus de Voragine,
304
Legendary Saga of St Óláfr, 95
Leges Langobardorum. See under Laws:
Langobardic
Lévi-Strauss, Claude, 10–11, 14
Liber Miraculorum (Book of Miracles)
of Herbert of Clairvaux, 273
lightning, 90, 165, 271
líkneski ‘likeness’, 90–91, 98
Líkneskjusmíð, 90
literacy, xi, 30–46, 199; alphabetic,
40, 45
Liutprand (king), 175
Liutprandi Leges. See under Laws:
Langobardic
ljóð ‘charm’, 290
ljóðaháttr meter, 34, 116
Ljóðatal, 289
Lokasenna, 73, 253, 264, 347
Loki, 35, 229, 243, 253–55, 261–62, 276,
347, 349–50, 353–55; represented
as a Jew, 248–53
Lönnrot, Elias, 192, 199, 224–25, 227,
233
Lono (Hawaiian god), 20–21
Lord, Albert B., 32
Luakini ritual cycle, 20–21
Lucius Annaeus Florus. See Epitome of
Roman History
lyng-ormr ‘heather-snake’, 330
Lytir, 99, 125
magic, 11–12, 15, 125, 127, 208, 224,
252, 290, 292–93, 298–99, 307–10,
326, 331, 350, 370, 375. See also
charm(s), charm magic
magician(s), 12, 299, 309, 352
Magnúss saga berfœtts, 296
Makahiki ritual cycle, 20–21
Man, Isle of, 67, 79–80; Manx carving,
68
Mandi (Nuristani god), 370
manor(s), manorial residence(s). See
central place(s)
Manuchehr (legendary king in the
Shahnameh), 351–53, 355
manuscript(s), medieval, 32, 35,
41, 164, 234; art, 63; as arenas
for communication, 40, 44;
Carolingian, 63; Ottonian, 63;
production of in Sweden, 78;
verbal and visual representation
in, 43
manuscript(s), individual: AM 242
fol., Codex Wormianus (Prose
edda), 246–48; AM 748 4to
Fragments of the Elder and the
Younger Edda, 234; Cod. Voss.
Lat. 4º 123, Leiden manuscript
of Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae
pontificum of Adam of Bremen,
164; DG 11 4to Codex Upsaliensis
(Prose edda), 42–44; Ny. kgl.
Samling 66, 8vo Gamle danske urtebøger, stenbøger og kogebøger, 307;
Ups C 528, Codex Bildstenianus
(Ett fornsvenskt legendarium), 304;
*Vatnshyrna manuscript, 280
Maori traditions, 372–73
Marbod, Bishop of Rennes, 307
Marcarius and the Magicians, Saul and
the Witch of Endor of Ælfric, 303
Margery Kempe, 245
Maríu saga, 100, 248
Mark. See under Bible passages
Matthew. See under Bible passages
medium, media, xvi, 30, 34, 39, 40–45,
53, 56, 68, 71–78, 81, 274; differences in, 34, 44–45, 78; and
mediation, 40, 53, 68; ‘medium
theory’, 53, 54, 76, 81; strategies,
42–43; studies, 30
389
Index
memory, 38, 66, 81, 343; collective,
45; communicative, 130, 344;
cultural, 53; function of in oral
and written cultures, 38; and
image(s), 38; toast ‘minni’, 120
Merovingian France, 147–48, 151, 172,
177–78, 181
Messuskýringar (commentaries on the
symbolism of liturgy), 247
metalepsis, 57, 71–72
Metamorphoses of Ovid, 276
Midas (king), and the Donkey’s Ears,
327
Middle East, 271, 324, 329
Midgard serpent (Old Norse
Miðgarðsormr), 140, 254
Mikael Agricola (‘father of Finnish
literature’), 223–32
Mímir/Mímr/Mími, 148, 235, 291–92,
303
modeling: as external memory
device, 343; heuristic value of,
343–57
models: scholarly or scientific, 7–9
M kkurk lfi 103 4 245
Molda-Gnúpr, 271
mortuary practices and beliefs, 294,
302–3
Moses, 168, 245
mound dweller(s). See haugúi, haugbúar
Mount Mazama, 274, 281
Mount Sinai, 168
multiformity, 324
Mundilfœri, 195–96
murder, 91, 341, 350–51; -and-revenge
theme, 344–48, 350–53, 354–57;
triad, 343, 347; weapon, 329
Muspell, Muspellzheimr, 194, 196,
243, 253–56, 262–64, 277, 301,
366–67
myth(s): of Adam and Eve, xiv,
101, 245; of Cain and Abel,
390
370; creation, 269–70, 276–77,
280–82, 284, 363–77; of Ho-wori
and Ho-deri, 370–71; of Jacob
and Esau, 370; mythic, 191–219;
Nordic solar, x, 203–4, 212–16;
performance and non-verbal
aspects of, 45–46; of primordial giant being dismembered,
196–97, 282, 369–75; of sun as
bird-egg, 200–202, 215, 230–31,
371, 373, 376; of sun as deified
earthling consigned to the sky,
191; of sun as female, 191, 195,
198, 204, 209, 212, 214; of sun as
unpersonified flame or disk, 191,
193, 196, 198, 213, 217; of sun
perennially chased by wolves,
191; of sun’s movement in Bronze
Age, 215; Snorri’s terms for, 193;
verbal dimension of, 30
myth-ritual configurations of temple,
tree, and well, 169
mythic oaks, 181, 204
mythological relationship, genetic, 4,
14, 16, 23, 323, 342
mythologies: Austric, 371, 373–74;
Austro-Thai, 371; Balto-Finnic,
205, 224–25, 234–35; Chinese,
4, 364, 375; Finnish, x, 223,
226, 228, 232; Greek, 274, 303;
Hawaiian, 19–22; Hittite, 104,
375; Indian, 372, 374–75; IndoEuropean, xv, 14, 104, 357, 377;
Indo-Iranian, 364, 369; Iranian, x,
342; Japanese, 373; Laurasian, 4,
14, 363–64; Maori, 372; Nuristani,
369–70; Roman, 153
narratology, 71; narratological levels,
relationship between, 79
necromancy (necromantia, nás orð
‘corpse-words’), 290–91, 293, 309;
confusion with nigromantia, 290
Neoplatonism, 269, 282, 284;
Index
Neoplatonic dualism, 277
New Philology, 40
Niðungr (king; also Niðhad), 148, 153
Niflheimr, 276–77, 281–82
N r r 115 16 119 120 23 126 and
Skaði, now-lost ljóðaháttr poem
about, 116
noose, 289–90, 296
Nordic-Baltic peoples, intercultural
relations of, 217
Norway, 56, 68, 89–90, 94, 98, 113, 115,
119, 125, 130, 147, 149, 248–49,
278, 300–302, 308, 356
Nuori-Juokawainen, 230
Nuristan, 369
oath(s), 96, 100–101, 118–20; hofeiðr,
119; lýrittareiðr, 100–101;
sónargöltr, 118
Oddrúnargrátr, 752
Odensbrunn (Óðinn’s well), Uppsala,
Tuna in Vendel (also Onsbrönn),
175
Odin. See Óðinn
Óðinn, 11–15, 97, 115, 118, 122–23,
127, 130, 232–33, 235, 247, 282,
347–50, 357, 369; cognomena
for (e.g., hangatýr, hangaguð,
hangadróttinn, heimþinguðr
hanga), 299–300; and creation,
196–97, 231; and Germanic
Mercury-Wodan, 15; as ‘god
of the Saxons’, 94; idol/image
of depicted, 140–41, 155, 165,
170–71, 193; as ‘Lord of Ghouls’,
293–98; and magic, 289–310;
as master of verse, 230; and
Mímis brunnr (Mímir’s well),
174, 291–92; ‘Óðinn-discourse’,
15–16; ‘Óðinn kings’ as ‘war
kings’, 21; as progenitor of
kings and chieftains, 21, 234;
and Rindr, 356; self-sacrifice on
Yggdrasill, 21–22, 102, 368; as
shaman, 11–15; and Väinämöinen
compared, 230–31; with Þórr and
Týr as a divine trilogy, 228–29
Ögmundar þáttr dytts ok Gunnars helmings, 21, 98, 115, 117, 126
Oisín (son of Fionn), 327–28, 335
Ólafr Geirstaðaálfr (king), 123
Óláfr Tryggvason (missionary king of
Norway), 97–99, 124
Óláfr Haraldsson (saint and king of
Norway), 94–95
Ólafs saga helga, 115, 122, 128
Ólafs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta, 117,
123, 124
Ólafs þáttr Geirstaðaálfs, 123
Old Icelandic Homily Book, 248–49, 252
Old Kalevala. See Kalevala, Old
Olof Skötkonung (Swedish king), 305
oral: art forms, 31; background of
sagas and poems, 31, 33, 44;
-derived texts, 32–33, 35; literature, 34, 207; poetry, 33, 76, 227;
‘remediation’ of oral poetry in
written medium, 76–78; tradition, 29, 31, 32, 114, 115, 120,
122–23, 125, 129–30, 224, 227,
230, 233, 325
orality and literacy debate, 29–45
ormr, Old Norse, ‘snake’, ‘dragon’
(cognate with Irish cnuimh/
cruimh, Persian kerm, and English
worm), 330
Oseberg, Norway, 125, 130
Othinus, 348–50, 356. See also Óðinn
Ovid. See Metamorphoses
pagan revival: among the Wends
(1134), 180
Päivätär (sun as a female deity in
some Balto-Finnic songs), 204–5
Päivölä songs, 204
Paltamo, Finland, 202
Pangu (P’an ku), 363–64, 371, 374
Parchim (possible sanctuary site), 180
391
Index
Parry, Milman, 32
Passio Sancti Eadmundi of Abbo of
Fleury, 304–5
performance, 29–30, 32, 34–36, 54, 68,
76, 226, 309; of myth, 38–45, 126.
See also under myth(s)
performance practices, conxtextualization of. See contextualization
of performance practices
Persia, 337, 350–51. See also Iran
petroglyph(s): Bronze Age, 215
philology, 30, 36–37
Phoenicians, 152, 306
picture stones. See runestones and
picture stones
place names, 115–19, 124, 172, 216.
See also individual toponyms
Poetic Edda. See eddic poems; and
names of individual poems
Polynesian traditions, 377
pre-Christian: Scandinavia, 14–16,
22–23, 29, 39, 95, 127, 129, 163,
168, 176–77, 180–81, 192, 293;
Baltic mythology, 209; cultic
practices, 102, 115; deities, 102;
Icelanders, 273; oral formula,
102; Sámi beliefs, 206–7
Prester John, 257
primordial giant: emerging from
chaos ( ir Puru a) 376
emerging from primordial egg
(Polynesia/China), 376; of stone,
375–76; universe created from
body of slain (motif A642),
196–97, 282, 369–75
processional roads, 125–26, 130, 179
Procopius, 150
prophecy, 70, 92, 102–3, 149, 290, 299,
303; summoned, prophesying
dead (motif M301.14), 293, 299
Prose Edda. See Snorra edda
protagonist(s), 34, 76, 331, 344, 348,
392
352–53
Psalms. See under Bible passages
Puru a 363 65 371 374 376 77
Radogosc (temple site), 180
agnar k 197 212 227
Ragnarr loðbrók, 99, 103, 323–25,
330–38
Ragnars kvæði (Faroese ballad), 323
Ragnars saga loðbrókar, 99, 323, 330
k asa (de on) 370
Ralsiek (possible sanctuary site), 180
Ramsund. See under runestones and
picture stones
Randalín, 325, 331, 333–34, 337–38
reception of materials, 37, 39, 205,
234
reconstructing myths and religions,
xv, 3–11, 15–17, 23, 35–36, 191,
364
Red Jews, 252–63; identified with
the Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse, 255–56; identified
with Gog and Magog, 255; identified with the Lost Ten Tribes of
Israel, 255;
religion(s), 4–23, 30, 79, 113, 115, 126,
129–30, 166–69, 177, 180, 225,
227, 244–45, 291, 304; ‘archaic’,
18; ‘axial’, 18; ‘different’, 6; Old
Norse, 4–7, 9, 11, 16–17, 23, 180;
Robert Bellah on evolution of,
17–22; ‘tribal’, 18
Remus, 153, 353, 370, 374
renewal of ritual structures. See under
ritual structures
gveda, 364, 368–69, 375
Richard the Lionheart (king), 244
riddle(s), 224, 332, 349
Rígsþula, 21
Rindr/Rinda, 233, 348–349, 356
ritual(s), 7, 9–12, 15, 17, 19–22, 40,
113, 118–22, 125–30, 143–47,
Index
152, 155, 166, 169, 171–72, 175,
178–82, 206–10, 214, 216–18, 247,
293–97, 306, 308, 373–75; cycles,
20; landscapes, 169; pagan, 7, 175
ritual structures: renewal of, 146–47
Robert Grosseteste (fl. 1220s), 245,
252
Romans (book of the Bible). See under
Bible passages
Romulus, 153, 353, 370
Rösaring, Uppland, Sweden, 125
royal burial(s), 129, 166, 177; court,
148; dynasties, 153, 218, 323, 355;
ideology, 234, 347; lineage, 20,
140, 149, 151–52, 217, 234, 328,
347, 353; manor, 151, 178
Rudolf of Fulda, 176
runestones and picture stones, 53–81,
139–40, 154–55, 193, 212, 215–16,
297; Denmark, Ålum (Ålum 3, DR
96), 58; Denmark, Hunnestad 3
(DR 284), 60; Denmark, Jelling 2
(Dr 42), 61, 78; Norway, Alstad,
59, 65; Norway, Dynna, 59, 65;
Norway, Eggja, 59; Norway, Vang,
59; Sweden, Altuna (U 1161),
58, 139; Sweden, Ardre VIII,
154; Sweden, Årsunda (Gs 9),
139; Sweden, Drävle (U 1163),
140; Sweden, Gök (Sö 327), 53,
59, 66–71, 78–81, 139; Sweden,
Krogsta (U 1125), 58; Sweden,
Lärbro Stora Hammars I stone,
55, 297, 300; Sweden, Ledberg
(Ög 181), 140; Sweden, Möjbro (U
877), 58; Sweden, Ockelbo (Gs 19),
139–40; Sweden, Österfärnebo
(Gs 2), 139; Sweden, Prästgården
(U 855), 64; Sweden, Ramsund
(Sö 101), 53, 59, 65–71, 78, 80,
139; Sweden, Sanda stone, 216;
Sweden, Stora Runhällen (U
1164), 62, 63; Sweden, Tjängvide I
(G 110), 140; Sweden, Västerljung
(Sö 40), 140; Sweden, Vittinge (U
1175), 139
sacrifice, 93, 97–103, 118, 120, 122–24,
127–28. See also blót (sacrifice)
Sæmingr (first of the Hlaðajarl line of
earls in Norway), 356
Saga Heiðreks konungs ins vitra. See
Heiðreks saga
sagas, 30–31, 33, 36–37, 95, 114, 117,
120, 122, 130, 275; fornaldarsǫgur,
30, 80. See also titles of individual
sagas
saint(s): cephalophoric, 303, 308;
decapitated, 303; severed head of,
speaks so that searchers can find
it (motif V229.25), 304–5; statues
of, 90, 105
saints (individual): Saint Augustine,
246, 252; Saint Boniface, 175;
Saint Denis, 304; Saint Edmund,
304–5; Saint Erik, 178; Saint
Jerome, 247; Saint John the
Baptist, 303, 305; Saint Jón of
Hólar, 90; Saint Óláfr, 94–96; Saint
Sigfrid, 305
Salm, 346, 350–52, 355
Sámi (also Saami), x, 4, 11, 15,
149–51, 102, 191–92, 197, 205–9,
211, 214–18, 224, 376; ethnic
markers of, 149; noaidi (shaman),
206; reputation as smiths, 150;
shamanic drums, 206; as skridfenni, 150
I Samuel. See under Bible passages
sanctuaries, possible Slavic sites:
Feldber, 180; Groß Raden, 180;
Parchim, 180; Ralsiek, 180; Wolin,
180; Wroklaw, 180
Sanskrit, 342, 364
Saul and the Witch of Endor, 303
393
Index
Saxo Grammaticus, 15, 31, 127–30,
279, 291, 296, 298–300, 303, 308,
323, 341, 348–50, 353–56
Schweindorf, East Frisia, 152
sculpture, 56, 63, 67, 71, 90, 141
seiðr, 114, 122
Sgáthán, 327, 335–36
Shahnameh (Book of Kings) of
Ferdowsi, 324, 329–30, 324, 326,
337, 341, 345–46, 350–55
shamanism, 11–15, 192, 223, 234, 368
Shingu (Kii Peninsula), 375
Sictona. See Sigtuna
Sigrdrífumál, 127, 291
Sigtuna (Sictona), 78, 164–65, 167
Sigurðarkviða in skamma, 75
Sigurðr Fáfnisbani, 54, 67–71, 75–81
Sigurðr Hlaðajarl, 119
Sigyn, 253–54, 276
singing contest, 230
Skaði, 116, 121, 253–54, 356
Skáldatal, 43
skald(s), 6, 43–44, 100, 195, 232, 234,
300
skaldic poetry, 30, 33–35, 40, 76, 78,
104, 126, 234
Skáldskaparmál, 103, 127, 193–95, 234
Skedemosse, Öland, Sweden, 118
Skírnismál, 73, 116, 126–27, 211, 356
Sk ld god of the Scanians 94
Skrýmir, 232
Sleipnir, 140
Snorra edda (Snorri’s Edda. Also
called The Younger Edda and The
Prose Edda), 30–31, 42, 44, 75,
104, 244–45, 248, 253, 257, 261,
263–64, 269, 273, 276–77, 280,
281. See also Gylfaginning and
Skáldskaparmál
394
Snorri Sturluson, 30, 31, 45, 113–15,
122–23, 126–30, 151, 170–74,
192–98, 218, 243–57, 261–64,
269–70, 272, 276–77, 281–84, 342,
348–51, 356
Soikkola, Finland, 203
solar myths. See myth(s).
Solomon, Wisdom of. See under Bible
passages
Sonatorrek, 227
song traditions: Balto-Finnic,
199–200, 202; Karelian, 202;
Latvian, 194, 209; Russian
Orthodox, 205; Scandinavian
ballad, 192, 200
soul traveling, 14
source(s): archaeological, 6, 95, 114,
122, 127–30, 95, 139–50, 169,
172, 177–82, 215–18, 226, 273–74,
280, 289, 294–95, 302–6; -critical
perspective, xv, 3, 6, 16, 23, 33;
‘indigenous’ vs ‘foreign’, 6–7;
textual, 29, 70, 164, 302. See also
titles of individual works
Speculum lapidum (The Mirror of
Stones) of Camillus Leonardi, 307
Spitiiura, 369–70
Starcatherus, 21
Steinvör ‘hofgyðja’, 117
Stjórn, 101, 264
Sturlunga saga, 115
Styrmir Kárason (prior of the
Augustinian house of Viðey), 94
sun. See myth(s)
Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot (Ancient
Songs of the Finnish People), 199,
224
Surtr, 248, 254, 272, 282–83
Sutton Hoo, East Anglia: boat burial,
140; helmet, 140
Sveinn Ástriðarson, Danish king, 167
Index
Sveins þáttr ok Finns, 95
Sv l 197 98
Sweden, 65–67, 77–79, 98, 113–118,
123–30, 139–41, 144, 148–51, 155,
172, 177–79, 226, 302, 348
symbolism, 10, 168, 173, 177, 180–82,
247
Synagoga, 248–49
Szczecin (temple site), 180
Ta’aroa (Tahiti creator god), 371, 373
Tacitus, Cornelius (author of Germania),
21, 97, 118, 124, 294, 369
Tågaberg, Scania, 304
Tähemõrsja (The Star Bride), 205, 209
Tahmures, 346, 353
Talmud, 244
Tantalos, 33, 46
Telemark, Norway, 90, 68
temple(s), 20, 96–99, 102, 117–18,
144, 147, 150, 153, 163–73, 180;
literary evidence for pre-Christian Slavic, 180; and sacrifices at
Uppsala as described by Adam of
Bremen, 163–73; Slavic configurations of temple, tree, and well,
180. See also names of individual
Slavic temple sites
tephra, 271, 275, 281
Teutoburg forest, 293–94
text-context, 35–38; -image relationships, 42; textualization
(Verschriftlichung), 78–79
thick description, 10, 34
Thietmar of Merseburg (author of
Chronik), 181
Tikopia, 19
Tissø, Zealand, Denmark, 178–79
tongue, 294, 299–302, 305–10; ‘objects’
(See Charon’s obol)
topography, cultic, 163–82
topos, topoi, 78, 163, 167, 181, 245, 294
Torslunda, Öland, 140
Torsmyra, ‘bog dedicated to the god
Þórr’, 179
Tóruigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne
(Pursuit of Diarmaid and
Gráinne), 324
Translatio S. Alexandri (Transfer of [the
Relics of] St. Alexander) of Rudolf
of Fulda, 176
transmission: of myths and narratives, 29, 37, 39–40, 45, 54, 68,
250, 257, 324, 332, 342; oral, 76;
written, 68; written and oral, 73
treasure, 275–76, 331; buried, 275;
motif, 68–69
tree(s), 70, 94, 101, 163–82, 203–4, 207,
211, 216, 251, 289–97, 326, 329,
343, 368–69
trémaðr ‘tree-man’, 91, 99, 332, 337
treuddar, triangular-shaped stone
settings, 178
Triglav temple at Szczecin. See
Szczecin, temple(s)
tripartite structure, Dumézilian, 14,
343, 365
Troy, 42
Trundholm sun chariot, 196, 215
Tu Shan (Chinese legendary figure),
375
Tur (Iranian legendary figure), 346,
350–52, 355
typological comparativism. See under
comparativism(s)
Týr, 178, 228, 232; hand of, in Fenrir’s
mouth, 140
Ukko (god of thunder and/or the
sky), 202, 232
Ullikummi (giant of stone), 104, 375
universe: created from body of slain
giant (motif A642). See primordial giant
Upelluri (primordial stone giant), 375
Uppåkra, Scania, 139–49, 154–55
395
Index
Uppsala, 21, 122–25, 127, 129–30, 149,
151, 163–82, 207, 234, 297, 356,
as cultic center, 21, 122, 124, 125,
127, 129–30, 164–82, 234, 297,
356; as economic and political
center, 123, 128, 151, 234
Urðr, well of (Urðar brunnr), 164, 167,
174, 368
Útgarðar, 232
Vaðgelmir, 283
Vafþrúðnismál, 74, 120, 126, 230, 231,
281–84
Väinämöinen (god of the waters),
202–3, 227–28, 230–35,
valgaldr ‘corpse-magic’, 293, 309
alh ll 69 163 167 170 74 234 298
Váli, 253–54, 261, 348–50, 355
valkyrjur (valkyries), 171, 232
Vanir deities, 14, 113–30, 291; and the
álfar, 117, 124; association with
Uppland, Sweden; and female
ritual specialists, 116–17; incestuous activities of the Vanir, 129;
and the landscape, 124; ‘obituary’
by R. Simek, 113; ‘otherness’ of,
114; and place names, 116; ritual
activities connected to, 118–19,
130
Vápnfirðinga saga, 117
Varuna, Vedic, 15
Varus (Roman general), 18
Vatnajökull, 271
Växjö, Småland, Sweden, 305
Vé, 196, 347, 367
Velent. See Volund
Venerable Bede, the, 8
vengeance, 253, 341, 351. See also
avenger
verbal aspects, 30, 34, 42, 79, 227, 231,
234; and visual representations
in manuscripts, complementarity
of, 43
396
vermin (including worms, small
serpents, and maggots), 60, 61,
90, 216, 324–37, 372
Viaticum, 306–8
Viðarr, 140
Víga-Glúms saga, 116, 118
Víkarr, 296
Vili, 196, 347, 367
Virgil, 245
Virgin Mary, the, 90, 204, 212
Vita Anskarii auctore Rimberto (Life of
St. Ansgar of Rimbert), 181
Vita Prieflingensis (Prüfening Life), 180
itast ( helu ) iver 370
volcanic activity, volcanism, 269–84;
Icelandic types, 270
Völsunga saga (also Vǫlsunga saga),
67–69, 332, 338
Vǫlsungakviða, 74
olund (also elent
lundr
lundr a land
land) 69
74–75, 139–55, 232
Vǫlundarkviða, 74, 75, 139, 141–42,
149, 151, 154–55, 232
lundr
lundr. See Volund
volundu, Anglo-Frisian runic inscription, 152
Vǫluspá, 74, 121–22, 126, 150, 174, 195,
225, 227, 231, 244, 255, 261–64,
272–73, 282, 291, 298, 353, 365–67
vǫlva ‘seeress’, 293, 298, 309
wagons, 114, 212; journeys by, and
their connections to the Vanir,
125
Wayland. See Volund
land. See Volund
well(s), 163, 167, 173–76, 178–80, 182.
See also Óðinn: Mímis brunnr; Urðr,
well of
Widukind of Corvey, 176
Wielent. See Volund
William of Auvergne (fl. 1228), 245
Index
Wisdom of Solomon. See under Bible
passages
witch of Endor, 290, 303
Wolgast (temple site), 180
Wolin (sanctuary/temple site), 180
worldview, 10; Christian, 217; pagan,
6–7, 39, 115, 274, 284; religious, 7;
Slavic, 181
Wroklaw (possible sanctuary site),
180
Yama (Vedic mythic figure), 346, 356,
369–71
Yggdrasill, 163, 167, 173–74, 178, 368
Yima (Iranian mythic figure), 369–71
Ymir, 197, 282, 284, 364–77
Ynglinga saga, 113, 117, 122–23,
127–29, 150–51, 230, 291–92, 300,
347, 356
Ynglings, 168
Younger Edda, the. See Snorra edda
Yü (first king of the Hsia dynasty),
375
Zahhak (Iranian legendary figure),
346, 350, 352–55
Þiðreks saga af Bern, 142
Þjazi, 232
Þóra, 330–31, 333–34
Þórðr gellir, 344–45
Þórðr Özurarson, as ‘Freysgoðar’, 116
Þorgarðr (wooden man), 99–100
orger r H rgabr r 100
Þorleifr jarlsskáld, 100, 300
Þorleifs þáttr jarlsskálds, 99, 300
Þórr, 15, 90, 94–99, 103–104, 114, 115,
116, 118, 119, 122, 128, 130, 139,
165, 170, 179, 193, 228, 231–32,
235, 242, 348–49, 376; as god of
the Englishmen, 94; and Hrugnir,
103; idol of, 90, 95–99, 165, 170;
and Ilmarinen, 228, 231–34; and
the Miðgarðsormr, 76, 140; and
M llnir 95 232
Þorsteins þáttr bœjarmagns, 281
Þorsteins þáttr uxafóts, 298, 301–2, 309
Þrándheimr, 117–19, 123–24
Þriði, 41, 42, 253
Þrúðgelmir, 283
Þrymskviða, 74, 127, 226
Þuriðr ‘hofgyðja’, 116–17
397