172 waves, it was only to take fiendish delight in pursuing and overturning vessels, which he greedily dragged down to the bottom of the sea. The Goddess Ran Ægir was mated with his sister, the goddess Ran, whose name means “robber,” and who was as cruel, greedy, and insatiable as her husband. Her favorite pastime was lurking near dangerous rocks, whither she enticed mariners. There she spread her net, her most prized possession, and, having entangled the men in its meshes and broken their vessels on the jagged cliffs, she calmly drew them down into her cheerless realm. “In the deep sea caves     By the sounding shore, In the dashing waves     When the wild storms roar, In her cold green bowers     In the Northern fiords, She lurks and she glowers,     She grasps and she hoards, And she spreads her strong net for her prey.” STORY OF SIEGFRIED (Baldwin) Ran was therefore also considered the goddess of death for all who perished at sea, and the Northern nations fancied that she entertained the drowned in her coral caves, where her couches were spread to receive them, and where the mead flowed freely as in Valhalla. The goddess was further supposed to have a great affection for gold, which was called the “flame of the sea,” and was used to illuminate her halls. This belief originated when the sailors first noticed the well-known phosphorescent gleams in the deep, and to win Ran’s good graces, they were careful to hide some gold about them whenever any special danger threatened them on the sea. “Gold, on sweetheart ramblings, Pow’rful is and pleasant; Who goes empty-handed Down to sea-blue Ran,

173 Cold her kisses strike, and Fleeting her embrace is — But we ocean’s bride be Troth with purest gold.” VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R. B. Anderson) The Waves Ægir and Ran had nine beautiful daughters, the Waves, or billow maidens, whose snowy arms and bosoms, long golden hair, deep-blue eyes, and willowy, sensuous forms were fascinating in the extreme. These maidens delighted in playing all over the surface of their father’s vast domain, lightly clad in transparent blue, white, or green veils. They were very moody and capricious damsels, however, varying from playful to sullen and apathetic moods, and at times exciting one another almost to madness, tearing their hair and veils, flinging themselves recklessly upon their hard beds, the rocks, chasing one another with frantic haste, and shrieking aloud with joy or despair. These maidens, however, seldom came out to play unless their brother, the Wind, were abroad, and according to his mood they were gentle and playful, or rough and boisterous. The Waves were generally supposed to go about in triplets, and were often said to play around the ships of Vikings whom they favored, smoothing away every obstacle from their course, and helping them speedily to reach their goal. “And Æger’s daughters, in blue veils dight, The helm leap round, and urge it on its flight.” VIKING TALES OF THE NORTH (R. B. Anderson) Ægir’s Brewing Kettle In Anglo-Saxon the sea-god Ægir was known by the name of Eagor, and whenever an unusually large wave came thundering towards the shore, the sailors were wont to cry, as the Trent boatmen still do, “Look out, Eagor is coming!” He was also known by the name of Hler (the shelterer) among the Northern nations, and of Gymir (the concealer), because he was always ready to hide things in the depths of his realm, never revealing the secrets intrusted to his care. And,

174 because the waters of the sea were frequently said to seethe and hiss, the ocean was often called Ægir’s brewing kettle or vat. His two principal servants, noted for their quickness, were Elde and Funfeng, emblems of the phosphorescence of the sea; they invariably waited upon the guests whom he invited to his banquets in the depths of the sea. A gir sometimes left his realm to visit the Æsir in Asgard, where he was royally entertained, and took special pleasure in Bragi’s tales of the various adventures and achievements of the gods. Excited by the sparkling mead and by these tales, the god on one occasion ventured to invite all the sir to celebrate the harvest feast with him in Hlesey, where he promised to entertain them in his turn. Thor and Hymir Surprised at this invitation, one of them ventured to remind Ægir that the gods were accustomed to dainty fare; but the god of the sea declared that as far as eating was concerned they need have no care, as he was sure he could cater to the most fastidious appetites; but he confessed that he was not so confident about drink, as his brewing kettle was rather small. Hearing this, Thor immediately volunteered to procure a suitable kettle, and set out with Tyr to obtain it. The two gods journeyed east of the Elivagar in Thor’s goat chariot, left this conveyance at the house of the peasant Egil, Thialfi’s father, and wended their way on foot to the dwelling of the giant Hymir, who, they knew, owned a kettle one mile deep and proportionately wide. “There dwells eastward Of Elivagar The all-wise Hymir, At heaven’s end. My sire, fierce of mood, A kettle owns, A capacious cauldron, A rast in depth.” SÆMUND’S EDDA (Thorpe’s tr.) Only the women were at home, however, and Tyr recognized in the eldest — an ugly old hag with nine hundred heads — his own

175 grandmother, while the youngest, a beautiful young giantess, his mother, hospitably received him and his companion and gave them a drink. After learning their errand, this woman bade Tyr and Thor hide under some huge kettles resting upon a beam at the end of the hall, for her husband Hymir was very hasty and often slew his would-be guests with a single baleful glance. The gods had no sooner followed her advice than the old giant Hymir came in. When his wife told him that visitors had come, he frowned so portentously, and flashed such a wrathful look towards their hiding place, that the rafter split and the kettles fell with a crash, and were all dashed to pieces with the exception of the largest. “In shivers flew the pillar At the Jotun’s glance; The beam was first Broken in two. Eight kettles fell, But only one of them, A hard-hammered cauldron, Whole from the column.” SÆMUND’S EDDA (Thorpe’s tr.) The giant’s wife, however, prevailed upon him to welcome Tyr and Thor, and slay three oxen for their refection; but he was greatly dismayed to see the thunder-god eat two of these for his supper. Muttering that he would have to go fishing early the next morning to secure a breakfast for such a voracious guest, the giant fell asleep. When lie went down to the shore at dawn the next day, he was joined by Thor, who declared he would help him. As the giant bade him secure his own bait for fishing, Thor coolly slew his host’s largest ox, Himinbrioter (heaven breaker), cut off its head, and, embarking with it, proceeded to row far out to sea. In vain Hymir protested that his usual fishing ground had been reached, and that they might encounter the terrible Midgard snake were they to venture any farther — Thor persistently rowed on, until he fancied they were directly above this monster.

176 “On the dark bottom of the great salt lake, Imprisoned lay the giant snake, With naught his sullen sleep to break.” THOR’S FISHING, OEHLENSCHLÄGER (Pigott’s tr.) Baiting his powerful hook with the ox head, Thor angled for Iörmungandr, while the giant drew up two whales, which seemed enough for an early morning’s meal. As Hymir was about to propose a return, Thor suddenly felt a jerk, and began pulling as hard as he could, for he knew by the resistance of his prey, and the terrible storm lashed up by its writhings, that he had hooked the Midgard snake. In his determined efforts to force him to rise to the surface, Thor braced his feet so strongly against the bottom of the boat that he went through it and stood on the bed of the sea. After an indescribable struggle, the monster’s terrible venom-breathing head appeared, and Thor, seizing his hammer, was about to annihilate it when the giant, frightened by the proximity of Iörmungandr, and fearing lest the boat should sink and he become its prey, drew his knife, cut the fishing line, and thus allowed the monster to drop back like a stone to the bottom of the sea. “The knife prevails: far down beneath the main The serpent, spent with toil and pain, To the bottom sank again.” THOR’S FISHING, OEHLENSCHLÄGER (Pigott’s tr.) Angry with Hymir for his inopportune interference, Thor dealt him a blow with his hammer which knocked him overboard; but Hymir, undismayed, waded ashore, and met him as he returned to the beach. Hymir then took both whales, his share of the fishing, upon his back, to carry them to the house; and Thor, wishing to show his strength also, shouldered boat, oars, and fishing tackle, and followed him. Breakfast being disposed of, Hymir challenged Thor to show his strength by breaking his goblet; but although the thundergod threw it with irresistible force against stone pillars and walls,

177 it remained whole and was not even bent. In obedience to a whisper from Tyr’s mother, however, Thor suddenly hurled it against the giant’s forehead, the only substance tougher than itself, where it was shivered to pieces. Hymir, having thus seen what Thor could do, told him he might have the required kettle, which Tyr vainly tried to lift, and which Thor could raise from the floor only after he had drawn his belt of strength up to the very last hole. “Tyr twice assayed To move the vessel, Yet at each time Stood the kettle fast. Then Môdi’s father By the brim grasped it, And trod through The dwelling’s floor.” LAY OF HŶMIR (Thorpe’s tr.) The wrench with which he pulled it up, however, greatly shattered the giant’s house and broke his floor to pieces. As Tyr and Thor were departing, the latter having clapped the huge pot on his head in the guise of a hat, Hymir summoned the other frost giants, and proposed that they should slay their inveterate foe. Before they could overtake him, Thor, turning around, became aware of their pursuit, and, hurling Miölnir repeatedly at them, slew them all ere he carried the kettle in triumph to Ægir to enable him to brew enough ale for the harvest feast. The physical explanation of this myth is, of course, a thunder storm (Thor), in conflict with the raging sea (the Midgard snake), and the breaking up of the polar ice (Hymir’s goblet and floor) in the heat of summer. The gods now joyfully accepted Ægir’s invitation to be present at his feast, went there in festive array, and were ever after wont to celebrate the harvest home in his coral caves. “Then Vans and Æsir, mighty gods, Of earth and air, and Asgard, lords, —

178 Advancing with each goddess fair, A brilliant retinue most rare, — Attending mighty Odin, swept Up wave-worn aisle in radiant march.” VALHALLA (J. C. Jones) Ægir, as we have seen, ruled over all the sea with the help of the treacherous Ran. Both of these divinities were considered cruel by the Northern nations, who had much to suffer from the sea, which, surrounding them on all sides, ran far into the heart of their countries by means of the numerous fiords, and often swallowed the ships of their Vikings, with all the men on board.                                  “We Goth-folk know indeed That the sea is a foe full deadly, and a friend that fails at need, And that Ran, who dwells thereunder, will many a man beguile.” SIGURD THE VOLSUNG (William Morris) Other Divinities of the Sea Besides these principal divinities of the sea, the Northern nations believed in mermen and mermaids, the latter having swan plumage or seal garments, which they sometimes laid for a moment upon the beach, and if a mortal secured them he could compel the fair maidens to remain ashore. “She came through the waves when the fair moon shone     (Drift o’ the wave and foam o’ the sea); She came where I walked on the sands alone,    With a heart as light as a heart may be.” L. E. R. There were also malignant marine monsters who were known as Nicors, from whose name has been derived the proverbial Old Nick. Many of the lesser water divinities had fish tails; the females bore the name of Undines, and the males of Stromkarls, Nixies, Necks, or Neckar. These water spirits often left their native streams, especially during the middle ages, to appear at village dances, where they were recognized by the wet hem of their garments. They often sat beside the flowing brook orn river, playing on a harp, or sang alluring songs while combing out their long golden or green hair.

179 “The Neck here his harp in the glass castle plays, And mermaidens comb out their green hair always, And bleach here their shining white clothes.” STAGNELIUS (Keightley’s tr.) The Nixies, Undines, and Stromkarls were particularly gentle and lovable beings, and were very anxious indeed to obtain repeated assurances of their ultimate salvation. Many stories are therefore told of priests or children meeting these spirits playing by a stream, and taunting them with future damnation, which threat turned the joyful music to pitiful wails. But when priest or children, discovering their mistake, hastened back to the stream and assured the green-toothed water sprites of future redemption, they invariably resumed their happy strain. “Know you the Nixies, gay and fair? Their eyes are black, and green their hair —     They lurk in sedgy shores.” MATHISSON River Nymphs Besides Elf or Elb, the water sprite who gave its name to the Elbe River in Germany, the Neck, from whom the Neckar derives its name, and old Father Rhine, with his numerous daughters (tributary streams), the most famous of all the lesser water divinities is the Lorelei, the siren maiden who sits upon the Lorelei rock near St. Goar, on the Rhine, and whose alluring song has enticed many a mariner to death. The legends concerning this siren are very numerous indeed, one of the most ancient being as follows Legends of the Lorelei Lorelei was an immortal, a water nymph, daughter of old Father Rhine; during the day she dwelt in the cool depths of the river bed, but late at night she appeared in the moonlight, sitting aloft upon a pinnacle of rock, in full view of all who passed up or down the stream. At times, the evening breeze wafted some of the notes of her song to the boatmen’s ears, when, forgetting time and place in listening to these enchanting melodies, they drifted upon the sharp and jagged rocks, where they invariably perished.

180 “Above the maiden sitteth,     A wondrous form, and fair; With jewels bright she plaiteth     Her shining golden hair With comb of gold prepares it,     The task with song beguiled; A fitful burden bears it —     That melody so wild. The boatman on the river     Lists to the song, spell-bound; Oh! what shall him deliver     From danger threat’ning round? The waters deep have caught them,     Both boat and boatman brave; ’Tis Loreley’s song bath brought them     Beneath the foaming wave.” SONG, HEINE (Selcher’s tr.) The Lorelei and the Fisherman One person only is reported to have seen the Lorelei close by, a young fisherman from Oberwesel, who met her every evening by the riverside, and spent a few delightful hours with her, drinking in her beauty and listening to her entrancing song. Tradition further relates that ere they parted the Lorelei invariably pointed out the places where the youth must cast his nets on the morrow — instructions which he always obeyed, and which invariably brought him success. One night the young fisherman was seen going towards the river, but as he never returned search was made for him. No clew to his whereabouts being found, the credulous Germans finally reported that the Lorelei had dragged him down to her coral caves that she might enjoy his companionship forever. According to another version, the Lorelei, perching on the rocks above, and luring the fishermen by her songs, caused so many deaths that an armed force was once sent out at nightfall to surround and seize her. But the water nymph used her magic to lay such a powerful spell upon the captain and his men that they could move neither hand nor foot. While they stood motionless

181 around her, the Lorelei divested herself of all her ornaments, which she flung into the waves below ; then, chanting a spell, she lured the waters up to the top of the rock, and the soldiers saw her spring into a sea-green chariot drawn by white-maned steeds, and drive rapidly away. A few moments later the Rhine had subsided to its usual level, the spell was broken, and the men recovered the power of motion, and retreated to announce how their efforts had been baffled. Since then, however, the Lorelei has never been seen, and the peasants declare that she still resents the insult offered her and will no longer leave her coral caves.