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The note of the snipe in the spring, when the breeding season approaches, is very different from his call in other seasons of the year. As soon as the mild weather of spring appears, he begins to rise high on the wing, crying, peet, peet, peet, and continues to sport in the air for many hours at a time, letting himself fall obliquely, or dive through the air from a great height as if he were about to alight; but suddenly stops his descent, and rises again to the same elevation. During the descent he makes no motion of the pinions, but by a singular contraction of the muscles, each individual quill of the wing is turned sideways, so as to meet the air and obstruct his descent, and the wind whistles in a most remarkable manner through the feathers, making a noise like the prolonged repetition of the letters dr. This noise has been called the snipe's drumming, with reference to the letters dr, though the noise has not the least resemblance to that of a drum.

Agnafit the present site of Stockholm.

Thirteen of the Valkyriur or Maids of slaughter are enumerated in Grimnismál; but others are named in the Edda and in Haconarmál. I have never seen their exact number stated. In Völospá only six are named, and those appear to have been the most distinguished.

i e.

It was their province to choose out those who were to fall in battle, to bear the invitation of Odin to the most distinguished, and to pour out the beverage of the gods, ale or mead, for the souls of the heroes in Valhall.

Gondul was one of the Valkyriur. She is mentioned in Haconarmál, where she warns king Haco of his approaching death. Valkyriur or Valkyrior is the plural. Valkyrie is the singular, derived from Valr, the slain, and ec kiöri, I choose or select.

The occupation of the souls of heroes in the hall of Odin is set forth in the old poem Vafthrudnismál.

i. e. “All the heroes at the court of Odin fight every day. They choose the slain, and ride from the battle; drink ale with the gods, and eat the flesh of the boar. They sit most amicably together.” In the Edda, it is said, that every morning as soon as they are apparelled, they go out into the court and fight with each other till the close of the day, when they return to Valhall to drink beer or mead.

The delight which an eagle shows in a storm of wind and rain is very remarkable, even when it is chained to a perch.

Angrim was the father of Angantyr. He killed in single combat Svafurlami, the grandson of Odin, and took from him his famous sword Tirfing, which had been made by the dwarfs; and he carried off his daughter Eyfur or Eyvora, who became the mother of Angantyr and his brothers. The particulars are related in Hervarar Saga.

The name Orvarodd signifies the point of an arrow, which suggested the probability of his making use of that weapon in the combat. In Hervarar Saga, he is said to have killed all the brothers of Angantyr successively, but not with the bow and arrow.

Huginn ok Muninn—Observation and Memory. —They are mentioned in the twentieth stanza of Grimnismál, as flying every day round the world.

i. e. “Observation and Memory fly every day over the ground of the earth. I fear, concerning Observation, that he may not come back, but I look round more anxiously for Memory.”

In the prose Edda they are described as ravens.

Hrafnar sitia tveir a auxlum hans, ok segia honum oll tidindi i eyro hans thau er their sia ethr heyra. Their heita sva, Hugin ac Munin. Tha sendir Odin i daga at fliuga um heima alla ok koma aptr um dagverth. Thvi heitr han Hrafna Gud.

i. e. “Two ravens sit on his shoulders and tell in his ear all the tidings of what they see or hear. They are called thus, Hugin and Munin. Odin sends them every day to fly round the whole universe, and return at the decline of day. Hence he has been called the god of the ravens.”

Heimdallar, the god of light, is stated in the Edda to have the gift of hearing even the grass grow in the fields, and the wool on the flocks. By the nine sister virgins, who are said to have given him birth, are probably meant the nine heavens from which light proceeds. In the old poem Vafthrudnismál, Vafthrudnir says, that he has visited all the upper worlds, and that they are nine in number.

i. e. “I can speak truly of the incantations of the Jotuns and all the Gods; because I have travelled round every world. I have visited nine worlds above the abyss of hell. There men die by the power of Hela.”

And in Völospá hin skemre, the prophetess says:

Nyo nam ec heima, nyo i vide, Miötvid mæran fyr molld nedan.

i.e. “I have found nine worlds, and nine beams (or poles) in them. The largest pole through the earth beneath.”

He is called in Grimnismál Vörda Godom, the wardour of the gods. He is possessed of a horn, called Giallarhorn, which may be heard throughout the whole universe. This is the trumpet which will be heard at the end of the world, to apprize the gods of the approach of their enemies and the destruction which will envelope them.

Kona Braga heitr Idun. Hon vardveitr i eski sino epli thau er Gudin skulo a bita tha er thau elldaz. Ok verda tha allir ungir, ok sva mun verda til Ragnaraucks.

i. e. “The wife of Braga is called Idun. She preserves in her box those apples which the gods bite when they grow old, and they all become young again: and so it must be till the end of the world.”

Braga was the god of poetry.

Tyr was the god of victory.

Thor was the son of Jord, the earth. He is celebrated for his military prowess and his voracity. He was held in great veneration as one of the most, powerful deities, and he is supposed to have been considered by some of the northern tribes as superior even to Odin. His hammer, which was shaped like a cross, was the symbol used to summon the chiefs to council, and the dependants to arms: and after the introduction of christianity the same cross continued to be used for that purpose.

Nicrder was of the nation of the Vanir, a Grecian colony, who are always called in the old northern writings the wise Vanir. He is said to have been educated in Vanaheim, and to have been given up by the Vanir to the Gods or Goths in exchange for one of their number, as a hostage on the re-establishment of peace between them.

i. e. “In Vanaheim, the wise deities created him, and gave him as a hostage to the gods. At the end of ages he must return home to the wise Vanir.”— Vafthrudnismal, 39.

The Edda says that he rules over the motion of the winds, can tranquillize the sea, winds, and fire; and that he is to be invoked by all seafaring men and hunters. He appears to have made a very uncomfortable marriage in Norway, where he espoused a mountain nymph, called Skada, the daughter of the giant Thiassa, at Drontheim. Niorder dwelt at Noatun by the sea-side; but Skada was an expert and active huntress, and could not be prevailed upon to dwell with her husband on the sea-coast; and it was at last agreed between them, that they should pass nine nights in the mountains of Drontheim, and three by the sea-side at Noatun. The dissatisfaction of both parties is whimsically expressed in the Edda, where Niorder, on his return after passing nine disagreeable nights in the mountains, says:

“The mountains are hateful, I have been sleepless these nine long nights. The wolves howl that come to me from the wood every morning.” To this Skada answers,

“Can I sleep easy on the bed of the seagod, amidst the wail of the sea-fowl that wakes me? To me it seems disagreeable to be near the song of the swans.” Niorder had two children, Freyr, the god of peace and plenty, and Freya, the goddess of beauty, by a former wife, while he dwelt amongst the Vanir.

Freya was the goddess of beauty, and has been generally called the northern Venus. She wears a necklace of the most brilliant stones, which is frequently mentioned as her peculiar ornament. The goddess of love in the northern mythology is properly Siofna, who is in fact a female Cupid: but she is not often mentioned, nor with any particular attributes or description.

Vidar is the god of silence and retirement. It is said in the Edda, that he affords great consolation to the gods in all difficulties and dangers. At the end of the world, after the destruction of Odin and the other gods, Vidar, the god of silence, and Vali, the god of strength, will alone survive. Vidar is said in Grimnismál to dwell in a bower covered with willows and high grass.

i. e. “The habitation of Vidar grows with twigs, high grass, and willows. Yet from thence shall the youth spring from the horse's back valiant, and revenge his father.”

The Edda says, Forseti was the son of Balder, and Nauna Nef's daughter. “All who come before him with disputes, depart reconciled; he is the best judge amongst gods and men.” In Grimnismál, stanza 15.

i. e. “Glitnir is the tenth dwelling of the gods. It is propped with gold, and the same is covered with silver. And there Forseti dwells most days, and puts to rest all disputes.”

Vali the god of strength, son of Odin and Rinda. Hauder the blind god had slain Balder. Vali, on the very night of his birth, revenged the death of Balder, by killing Hauder. This wonderful feat, which has some analogy to the fable of Hercules strangling the serpents in his cradle, is foretold by the prophetess in the descent of Odin, which has been translated by Gray. Rinda came from the east of Russia. The lines,

in Gray's translation mean that she had come from the east to dwell with Odin in the more western parts of Europe. In the original, the lines are:

i. e. “In the western halls, Rinda shall bear a son. He shall kill Odin's son (Hauder) when only one night old.”

The same account is given in Völospá. I have called Rinda the daughter of the Sun on the authority of a passage in Vafthrudnismál, Eina dóttur berr Alfrödull, i. e. “The Sun shall bear one daughter,” and of another passage in Hrafna-galldr Odins, where the sun is called Rindar módur, the mother of Rinda, as well as Alfraudul. It is remarkable that in the northern mythology the sun is a female, and the moon a male deity.

His name was Hræsvelger. He is thus described in the thirty-seventh stanza of Vafthrudnismál.

i. e. “He is called Hræsvelger, who sits at the extremity of the heavens, a giant in the clothing of an eagle. From his wings it is said that the winds proceed over all mankind.”

There is an account of this shield in the thirty-eighth stanza of Grimnismál.

i. e. “Svalin is his name, he stands a shield before the sun, the shining deity. I know that the hills and the sea would burn, if it were to fall from its place.”

There are many other divinities enumerated in the northern mythology. Uller, the son of Sifia, who is said to have introduced the use of fire, and Frigga, the wife of Odin, who is called the first of the goddesses. Saga is mentioned in the Edda as the second goddess; but her attributes are not mentioned. In Grimnismál it is said, that her habitation is amongst waterfalls, and that she and Odin drink together out of golden vessels. Gefion was attended upon by females, who died in their virginity. Fulla, with long flowing hair and a gold band round her forehead, was the handmaid of Frigga. Vara presided over oaths, Lofen over friendships, Syn over closed doors and refusals, Hlin over childbirth. There were many others of less importance. I have only mentioned in the poem those whose attributes appeared to furnish the most poetical images.

The Valkyriur are mentioned in Grimnismál as bearing the horn in their hands, and offering the liquor to the heroes in Valhalla. The description of the hall of Odin is taken from Grimnismál.

i. e. “Gladsheimr is the name of the fifth habitation. There bright with gold the wide Valhall (or hall of the slain) is firmly fixed; and there Odin chooses each day the men slain by weapons. It is easily distinguished by those who come to see the palace inhabited by Odin. The building is roofed with shafts of spears, the hall is covered (or thatched) with shields. Coats of mail are spread on the benches.”

According to the northern mythology, the destruction of the world will be preceded by three winters of intense severity, without the intervention of any summer, the sun having lost its power; after which Surtur riding at the head of the sons of Muspell, will attack the gods (Muspellheim being, as it seems, the region or abode of fire, from whence it is said in the Edda, that the gods obtained the chariot of the sun), fire will blaze before and after the footsteps of Surtur, and his sword will glitter like the sun. Heimdaller will blow a loud blast with his horn to alarm the gods, who will go forth to the combat accompanied by all the souls of heroes. The gods, after slaying many of their opponents, will fall in the contest: after which Surtur will destroy the whole universe by fire. Vidar will avenge the death of Odin, and after the destruction of the world by fire, Vidar and Vali, the powers of silence and strength, will alone survive; and Majesty and Might, the sons of Thor (that is, of Fortitude) will put an end to the confusion.

i. e. “Silence and Strength shall inhabit the mansions of the gods, after the fire of Surtur shall have been extinguished. Majesty and Might will obtain the hammer of Thor, and put an end to the warfare by perseverance.”— Vafthrudnismál, 51.