Part III: Rites and Symbols

Even as the Norse religion developed with time, many of its symbols still remained the same. The earliest symbols of Norse religion appear in the rock carvings of the Bronze Age along side the crudely drawn figures depicting the cycles of nature and the acts of gods and men. Other symbols can be found in the literature that has survived into the present day. In any form, these symbols help define what the Norse religious experience was all about.

One of the most beautiful aspects of the Norse religion that has survived through the ages is the kenning, or poetic device. For example, a poet could say "The brave warrior thrust his sword into the cowardly heart of his enemy," but it would be much more poetic to say: "The Tyr-valiant apple tree of strife thrust his blood snake into the melting life muscle of his over-bearer." The origin and purpose of kennings vary, but there are two distinct categories of these literary devices.

First are skaldic kennings. These poetic devices tend to be purely descriptive in nature, meant only to be pleasing to the ear. Some of these kennings play on common motifs and images found in Norse folklore, legend, and tradition. For example, gold can be referred to as "fire of the serpent’s bed." Taking this kenning apart, we find that fire is a common metaphor for gold in many Norse poems. Also, Norse mythology often pictures dragons as huge legged serpents that usually sleep upon mounds of gold. Thus, gold ("fire") is the serpent’s bed.

The other major grouping of kennings are eddic kennings. These sayings tend to refer to a specific myth or mythic concept. For example, people are often referred to in terms of trees. A man may be called a "sword tree" and a woman may be called a "jewelry tree." Of course, this refers back to the Norse creation myth when the gods created humans from trees. Other good examples are the kennings that refer to poetry. It can be called "Odin’s gift," "Odin’s find," or "the ship of the dwarves." All three of these kennings refer back to the story of how Odin recovered the Mead of Inspiration from the giant Suttaug.

However, some kennings, especially eddic ones, seem to have no myth or foundation behind them. For example, a shield can be referred to as "the ship of Ull." Not much is known about this god except that he was associated with archery, shields, protection, and single combat. To find the meaning of this kenning, then, we have to use our imagination and what is known about Norse symbolism. One explanation behind this kenning could involve a now lost tale, perhaps where the god is forced to use his shield as a boat. But that may be too simple of an explanation. In the previously mentioned poetry kenning "ship of the dwarves," the ship symbolizes a method to salvation. According to the legend of Odin’s recovery of the Mead of Inspiration, the mead was brewed from honey and the blood of Kvsir, the wise man who rose from the truce between the Aesir and Vanir. Two dwarves killed him and placed his blood into three bowls or cauldrons. The dwarves then go on to kill the sister of the giant Suttaug. In rage, he traps them on a reef, and the dwarves give up the mead to save themselves. So for the kenning "ship of the dwarves," the ship indicates a method of salvation. If this is also the case for "Ull’s ship," then the description is not unlike the idea of the god using his shield as a boat. However, in earlier Norse symbolism, the ship was seen as a vehicle to the other worlds, so it would not be unreasonable to assume that the reason for calling a shield "Ull’s ship" has something to do with the spiritual world.

Since the earliest days, the Norsemen have employed a variety of symbols. Our best indicators of this lie in Bronze Age rock carvings and evidence seen in art and various artifacts recovered from burial sites.

In a warrior society, weapons are a very important symbol indeed. Many Scandinavian graves contain weapons, and there is evidence that weapons (especially those belonging to an enemy) were given to the gods as offerings. Broken and rusted swords and axes have been found in peat bogs next to the skeletons of humans and animals. Many Norse gods are associated with a weapon. The most well known example is Thor and his hammer Mjolinir ("The Mauler" or "The Mighty"). Odin is said to posses a magnificent spear called Gungir. Tyr and Freyr were both associated with the sword. Ull and Skaldi were both said to be associated with the bow. Of these weapons, the sword, spear, and hammer (shown as an axe) were most prevalent in the rock carvings of the Bronze Age. In later times, the hammer became the most popular weapon symbol, testified to by the large number of Thor Hammer amulets unearthed in Scandinavia.

The earliest appearance of the hammer as a symbol is in the Bronze Age, where it was in the guise of an axe. This axe was often seen with one of the sun disk men, suggesting the axe/hammer may have had connections with fertility. This idea is present even as late as the Middle Ages, for farmers in Scandinavia believed that crops wouldn’t grow unless there was a good thunderstorm at the beginning of the growing season. Symbolically, this was seen as Thor uniting with his wife Sif, goddess of the harvest. Their union would insure a bountiful harvest for the season to come. The hammer, in a sense, was a phallic symbol. This idea of the blunt weapon having fertility connotations is seen in other parts of the world as well. Storm gods are usually associated with having some sort of blunt weapon as a symbol. For example, Baal has two clubs and Marduk has a mace. The hammer also had a significant role in marriage rituals, which will be discussed later.

The spear is just as common in rock carvings as the axe. The spear seemed to be a symbol of war and protection. Superhumanly large figures holding these weapons dominate many rock carvings of the Bronze Age. Obviously, these large figures represent a god of some type, but who? Odin may be the most logical choice, but Tyr seems to have been associated with the spear sometime in the distant past. The situation is difficult to interpret, for there is evidence to support both Odin and Tyr as this spear god.

Peter Gelling compares the function of the spear-god to the Roman god Mars. According to Gelling "Mars was more than a war-god, for farmers prayed to him to protect their crops and livestock. In this role he was not a fertility god, but still a mighty warrior, who could keep blight and disease, the farmer’s enemies, at bay." But while Mars and Tyr were both warrior gods, there is no evidence to connect him with a farmer’s god. While the sword, Tyr’s primary weapon, does appear in rock carvings, Gelling states that "there seems to be no evidence for connecting the sword with any martial cult." As will be discussed later, the sword seemed to be connected more with Freyr. Therefore, we have to use what we know about Tyr from later traditions to connect him with the spear-god. Some of the best evidence comes from archeology. The rune Tiwaz, which resembles a spear, was believed to bring victory in battle. In the eddic poem The Lay of Sigrdrifa, the valkerie gives the hero Sigurd wisdom and various battle spells. One of these spells is to twice carve the rune of Tyr upon one’s sword. Archaeologists have uncovered weapons, especially spears, with this rune carved into it. The spear, as Gelling puts it, "was the embodiment of warlike prowess, an ally in war and a protector in peace.…" So into the Viking Age, Tyr had some association with the spear as well as the sword.

Odin, on the other hand, is the Norse god most associated with the spear. While Odin is a bringer of strife and worshipped by warriors (most notably berserkers and nobles), his primary attributes were intellectual. By these lines, the "...spear god must have been more an embodiment of magic and cunning than valor." Therefore, it would make sense to associate this primitive spear god with Odin. Gelling also suggests that since Odin was also associated with rulership, the spear god may have been a deity worshipped by the ruling class in the Early Bronze Age’s stratified society . Later literary tradition does associated Odin with the ruling class, for in the poem Harbard’s Song, we are told:

"Odin has the nobles who fall in battle

and Thor has the breed of serfs."

-Harbard’s Song: 24

Though this evidence is compelling, Gelling states that we can’t be certain whether or not the later figure of Odin was dependant on early stratified society.

Later traditions connect the Sword to Tyr. Snorri says the god placed such a weapon in the mouth of Fenris after he bound the monster in order to quiet it down. There is also a passage from the Lay of Sigrdrifa:

"Victory-runes you must cut if you want to have victory,

and cut them on you sword-hilt;

some on the blade-guards, some on the plates,

and invoke Tyr twice."

-Lay of Sigrdrifa: 6

There is also evidence of various other rituals connected with the sword. The sword was also seen as the embodiment of the ancestral line. Kveldulf Gundarsson writes that the "sword symbolizes not only the life of the groom’s line, which he is entrusting to his bride, but also that she is expected to be his partner, standing beside him through all the battles and hardships of life."

Oddly enough, the sword was seen as more than a tool of war. It appears to have more sexual connotations if anything else. Especially during the Bronze Age, for it seemed to be connected with Freyr, the Vanic god of peace and plenty. One rock carving depicts a sword pointing to the genitals of a boar. There are also carvings of swords pointing to sun-like disks. To quote the words of Peter Gelling, "It is tempting to regard these circular figures as female symbols, and the sword as a male one, but this would contradict the conclusion reached earlier that all disks are likely to represent the sun." What Gelling doesn’t state, though, is that later Norse tradition depicts the sun as female, so if the sword/disk pictures are understood to have a male/female polarity the transition of the sun deity from being male to female may have been an early one. Fortunately, it is easy to see why the sword and boar motif is connected to Freyr. Gelling explains the sword’s relation to Frey and the boar clearly:

Freyr’s association with the sword is also made clear through one of the poems in the Poetic Edda called Skirnir’s Journey. In this poem, Freyr falls in love with a giantess named Gerd. He sends his friend and servant Skirnir to woo her for him. She refuses until Skirnir threatens to curse her if she doesn’t consent. When she finally agrees, she is given Freyr’s sword. There are a variety of ways to interpret this myth, but for now we will stick with the view that relates to this discussion on swords. Some scholars see this as a mythic example of the sacred marriage, with the groom giving a sword to his bride so she may guard his family line (see Gundarsson, above).

Finding evidence for Norse rites and rituals can be difficult, to say the least. The Norse did not write such practices down themselves, for they were very individualized people, so accordingly:

Therefore, it is not surprising that few first hand records of rituals exist. The ones we do have are often filled with the bias of the writer. The Norse strongly believed in personal religion, and there appears to have been no organized clergy. The only written records we have come from outside observers, who may or may not have been totally honest in their writings. Also, the Norse built few permanent structures for the purpose of holding religious services. Worship was best done outdoors, under the skies so the land spirits and gods may also be present and welcome. Many Norse sacred places seem to have been around springs, waterfalls, rock formations, or large trees. Sagas of the Christian kings of Europe tell how missionary kings like St. Olaf cut down these trees or defiled holy springs. The best way to find evidence of ritual is to search through the mythology of the North. Some evidence from rock carvings has already been touched, so now the focus of this study will shift to literature.

Scenes depicting a marriage of some kind have been found on Bronze Age rock carvings. During this time, marriage seems to have had some connection with the land, so these rock carvings may have been mythic in nature. Some of these marriages are pictured on ships, as if to insure a bountiful harvest of the sea. One of the mythic accounts of wedding tradition is found in Skirnir’s Journey, mentioned previously. In this account, Skirnir gives the bride Freyr’s sword. This practice was apparently done in some parts of Scandinavia. The groom would give the family sword to his bride, but the family of the bride sometimes gave weapons to the groom as a sign that he was to protect her.

Another wedding account comes in Thrym’s Poem. This story concerns the theft of Thor’s hammer. The god sends Loki out to find it, and he returns with the news that the frost giant Thrym stole it, and he would only give it back if he was given Freyja as his bride. Thor begs the goddess to accept, but she refuses in disgust. Heimdall proposes a solution to the problem:

"Let keys jingle about him

and let women’s clothing fall down to his knees,

and on his breast let’s display jewels,

and we’ll arrange a head-dress suitably on his head!"

-Thrym’s Poem: 16

So Thor, disguised as Freyja (quite against his will, by the way!) journeys to the home of the giants, accompanied by Loki (disguised as a bridesmaid). The delighted giants prepared a feast, with Thor astonishing the giants with his huge appetite. Thrym brings forth the hammer, saying:

"‘Bring in the hammer to sanctify the bride,

lay Miollnir on the girl’s lap,

consecrate us by the hand of Var!’"

-Thrym’s Poem: 30

Once Thor has his hands on his hammer, the inevitable happens. The Thunderer does what he does best: killing giants. He slays Thrym and his whole family.

Thrym’s Poem gives us a good glimpse of Norse marriage custom. Verse 16 mentions keys, which were the sign of a married woman. These keys were to the food pantry, chests, and storage areas of the house. Women in Scandinavia enjoyed quite a bit of freedom and were in charge of the household. Verse 30 gives us two clues: the hammer and the mentioning of Var. In addition to being a warrior, Thor was also believed to be a protector, warder, and hallower. The hammer could be passed or signed over food to bless it, much like a Christian would pray over a meal. Therefor, the hammer was placed in the lap of the bride not for the sexual reasons (remember, the hammer was believed to be a phallic symbol in earlier times), but as a way of driving out all hostile forces-to protect the bride. We don’t know much about Var, but she was believed to be one of the handmaidens of Frigga. Snorri also mentions that marriages were sanctified in her name, so this is probably correct.

As with many ancient cultures, new births were important to the family and the community. It also took on a religious meaning as well. Kveldulf Gundarsson explains:

The Norsemen were firm believers in respecting the ancestors, for it was believed that at certain times of the year they could come back to visit their kin. If a family had respected their kin, then it the ancestral spirits would aid the woman in labor. There are even spells that were believed to assist women giving birth:

"Helping runes you must know if you want to assist

and release children from women;

they should be cut on the palms and clasped on the joints,

and then the disir asked for help."

-Lay of Sigrdrifa: 9

After the child was born, it would go through the naming ritual nine days later. This ritual was very important, for it attached a soul, family, and destiny to the child. Before this ritual, the child was believed to be at a state of being in between a non-person and a person, so a weak or deformed child could be exposed to the elements without it being considered murder. Gundarsson explains that this wasn’t due to cruelty, but for practicality. In many parts of Scandinavia, food was already scarce, so the family would not be able to afford feeding a child who couldn’t work. After the child was named, there would be a great feast, and friends and family bestowed gifts upon the child. It was possible the Norns would come and pronounce the child’s fate, perhaps explaining what the future held for the child.

Rites to prove one was finally a man were just as important as the naming rites. Rock carvings indicate that rites of passage were present as early as the Bronze Age. One very unusual rock carving portrays two males holding staves and crouched in a very awkward looking position over a disk, which Peter Gelling suggests to be a fire. A similar carving depicts a figure of unknown gender (though possibly female) leaping and doing a split over a similar disk. He interprets this as a coming of age ritual, with the fire representing the sun and the figures in the carvings exposing their genitals to the fire. Why? Gelling explains:

Another known coming of age ceremony was the slaying of the auroch, a primitive buffalo-like beast that roamed ancient Europe. A lone individual would be required to slay this beast and bring back its horns as a token of his victory. Sometimes, these horns might be attached to a special helm for ritual use. As an important side note, this was the only time Vikings ever wore horned helms. A common coming of age rite among young warriors seems to have been taking the head of an enemy warrior by defeating him in single combat. This practice was rare among the Scandinavians, though, and appears more common among the Germans, who lived closer to the Celts (the ones who are believed to have innovated this practice). H. R. Ellis Davidson explains that coming of age rituals focused on proving the strength, courage, and prowess of the individual, usually by taking on a powerful animal:

"I know an eleventh if I have to lead

loyal friends into battle;

under the shields I chant, and they journey inviolate,

safely to the battle,

safely from the battle,

safely they come everywhere."

-Havamal: 156

Much of what we know about Norse religion comes from rites and spells associated with combat. In the Lay of Sigrdrifa, the valkerie gives the hero clues on various battle spells (verse 6, quoted earlier). There are also several rune spells Odin gives in the Havamal that relate to battle. Our best clues to discovering Norse battle rituals, though, come in studying the berserkers.

Both literature and archeological evidence attest to the power of these warriors. Skeletons have been unearthed that bear wounds matching descriptions given in Roman literature of men slain by German warriors. The berserker appears to have been an elite warrior living life apart from mainstream society. The name itself means "bear-shirt," because these men (and the occasional woman) would often fight naked, clothed only in a bearskin cloak. Others wore only a wolf skin belt instead. There appear to have been two types of the berserker, the kind that bonded with the bear and the kind that bonded with the wolf. One well-known episode of a mythical initiation to the berserkering lifestyle appears in the story of Sigmund and his son Sinfjotli:

Snorri describes them as being nearly invincible, fearing not death nor fire nor weapons. While such feats of power may be capable through training, it is impossible to ignore the mystical aspects of the berserker. Some scholars have suggested the use of drugs to invoke the frenzied state. They believe that these warrior groups may have used a plant known as fly agaric to achieve this. However, there is no evidence in Norse literature to support this, and fly agaric has been proven to induce tranquillity! This is not to say they didn’t use some sort of drugs, but if they did they kept it a very well guarded secret.

So what did they do if they didn’t use drugs? Possibly, they roused themselves through dances and chanting. Tacitus, the Roman historian known for his study of the Germans, refers to men dancing naked and doing reckless deeds before battle like jumping over upturned swords and spears. There appears little in the way of Bronze Age rock carvings to indicate this sort of behavior, but dancing warriors do appear in art of later times, like shields, helms, and drinking horns. This may indicate that pre-battle dancing was common to many Norse warriors (kind of like the modern football teams’ practice of banging heads before the game.). So the berserker had to get his inspiration from somewhere special.

Of all the gods, it is Odin that gives the berserker his inspiration to fight with intense madness. Since the myth of his recovery of the Mead of Inspiration became widespread, Odin has been seen as the bringer of all sorts of mental prowess. He can inspire a man to become a poet. He is the embodiment of mental cunning, and his endless quests for knowledge can no doubt inspire a sage. He is also the bringer of practical and profound wisdom. By these lines, Odin would no doubt bring something extra special to those he looked upon the most: the warriors. H. R. Ellis Davidson writes:

Such warriors were no doubt feared and respected by friend and foe alike. Their fearlessness of death certainly stands out in a society in which death was a preoccupation.