Part 12 (1/2)
Geirrod now appeared and challenged Thor to a test of strength and skill, but without waiting for a preconcerted signal, he flung a red-hot wedge at him. Thor, quick of eye and a practised catcher, caught the missile with the giantess's iron glove, and hurled it back at his opponent. Such was the force of the G.o.d, that the missile pa.s.sed, not only through the pillar behind which the giant had taken refuge, but through him and the wall of the house, and buried itself deep in the earth without.
Thor then strode up to the giant's corpse, which at the blow from his weapon had been petrified into stone, and set it up in a conspicuous place, as a monument of his strength and of the victory he had won over his redoubtable foes, the mountain giants.
The Wors.h.i.+p of Thor
Thor's name has been given to many of the places he was wont to frequent, such as the princ.i.p.al harbour of the Faroe Islands, and to families which claim to be descended from him. It is still extant in such names as Thunderhill in Surrey, and in the family names of Thorburn and Thorwaldsen, but is most conspicuous in the name of one of the days of the week, Thor's day or Thursday.
”Over the whole earth Still is it Thor's day!”
Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow).
Thor was considered a pre-eminently benevolent deity, and it was for that reason that he was so widely wors.h.i.+pped and that temples to his wors.h.i.+p arose at Moeri, Hlader, G.o.dey, Gothland, Upsala, and other places, where the people never failed to invoke him for a favourable year at Yule-tide, his princ.i.p.al festival. It was customary on this occasion to burn a great log of oak, his sacred tree, as an emblem of the warmth and light of summer, which would drive away the darkness and cold of winter.
Brides invariably wore red, Thor's favourite colour, which was considered emblematical of love, and for the same reason betrothal rings in the North were almost always set with a red stone.
Thor's temples and statues, like Odin's, were fas.h.i.+oned of wood, and the greater number of them were destroyed during the reign of King Olaf the Saint. According to ancient chronicles, this monarch forcibly converted his subjects. He was specially incensed against the inhabitants of a certain province, because they wors.h.i.+pped a rude image of Thor, which they decked with golden ornaments, and before which they set food every evening, declaring the G.o.d ate it, as no trace of it was left in the morning.
The people, being called upon in 1030 to renounce this idol in favour of the true G.o.d, promised to consent if the morrow were cloudy; but when after a whole night spent by Olaf in ardent prayer, there followed a cloudy day, the obstinate people declared they were not yet convinced of his G.o.d's power, and would only believe if the sun shone on the next day.
Once more Olaf spent the night in prayer, but at dawn, to his great chagrin, the sky was overcast. Nevertheless, he a.s.sembled the people near Thor's statue, and after secretly bidding his princ.i.p.al attendant to smash the idol with his battle-axe if the people turned their eyes away but for a moment, he began to address them. Suddenly, while all were listening to him, Olaf pointed to the horizon, where the sun was slowly breaking its way through the clouds, and exclaimed, ”Behold our G.o.d!” The people one and all turned to see what he meant, and the attendant seized this opportunity for attacking the idol, which yielded easily to his blows, and a host of mice and other vermin scattered hastily from its hollow interior. Seeing now that the food placed before their G.o.d had been devoured by noxious animals only, the people ceased to revere Thor, and definitely accepted the faith which King Olaf had so long and vainly pressed upon them.
CHAPTER V: TYR
The G.o.d of War
Tyr Tiu, or Ziu was the son of Odin, and, according to different mythologists, his mother was Frigga, queen of the G.o.ds, or a beautiful giantess whose name is unknown, but who was a personification of the raging sea. He is the G.o.d of martial honour, and one of the twelve princ.i.p.al deities of Asgard. Although he appears to have had no special dwelling there, he was always welcome to Vingolf or Valhalla, and occupied one of the twelve thrones in the great council hall of Glads-heim.
”The hall Glads-heim, which is built of gold; Where are in circle, ranged twelve golden chairs, And in the midst one higher, Odin's Throne.”
Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).
As the G.o.d of courage and of war, Tyr was frequently invoked by the various nations of the North, who cried to him, as well as to Odin, to obtain victory. That he ranked next to Odin and Thor is proved by his name, Tiu, having been given to one of the days of the week, Tiu's day, which in modern English has become Tuesday. Under the name of Ziu, Tyr was the princ.i.p.al divinity of the Suabians, who originally called their capital, the modern Augsburg, Ziusburg. This people, venerating the G.o.d as they did, were wont to wors.h.i.+p him under the emblem of a sword, his distinctive attribute, and in his honour held great sword dances, where various figures were performed. Sometimes the partic.i.p.ants forming two long lines, crossed their swords, point upward, and challenged the boldest among their number to take a flying leap over them. At other times the warriors joined their sword points closely together in the shape of a rose or wheel, and when this figure was complete invited their chief to stand on the navel thus formed of flat, s.h.i.+ning steel blades, and then they bore him upon it through the camp in triumph. The sword point was further considered so sacred that it became customary to register oaths upon it.
”... Come hither, gentlemen, And lay your hands again upon my sword; Never to speak of this that you have heard, Swear by my sword.”
Hamlet (Shakespeare).
A distinctive feature of the wors.h.i.+p of this G.o.d among the Franks and some other Northern nations was that the priests called Druids or G.o.di offered up human sacrifices upon his altars, generally cutting the b.l.o.o.d.y- or spread-eagle upon their victims, that is to say, making a deep incision on either side of the back-bone, turning the ribs thus loosened inside out, and tearing out the viscera through the opening thus made. Of course only prisoners of war were treated thus, and it was considered a point of honour with north European races to endure this torture without a moan. These sacrifices were made upon rude stone altars called dolmens, which can still be seen in Northern Europe. As Tyr was considered the patron G.o.d of the sword, it was deemed indispensable to engrave the sign or rune representing him upon the blade of every sword--an observance which the Edda enjoined upon all those who were desirous of obtaining victory.