Hermod

“ Hermod, the quick or nimble, resembles Mercury not only in his marvellous celerity of motion. He, too, was the messenger of the gods, and, like the Greek divinity, flashed hither and thither, aided not by winged cap and sandals, but by Odin’s steed Sleipnir, whom he alone was allowed to bestride. Instead of the Caduceus, he bore the wand Gambantein. He questioned the Norns and the magician Rossthiof, through whom he learned that Vali would come to avenge his brother Balder and to supplant his father Odin. ”

“ Hermod has disappeared through the wicked devices of the Queen, for she is a witch, and so is her daughter, though they have put on these beautiful forms. Because Hermod would not fall in with the Queen’s plans, and marry her daughter, she has laid a spell on him, to go on an island and be a lion by day and a man by night, and never be freed from this until you burn the lion’s skin. Besides,’ said Olof, ‘she has looked out a match for you; she has a brother in the Under-world, a three-headed Giant, whom she means to turn into a beautiful prince and get him married to you. ”

“ So Hermod galloped over the golden bridge, and resumed his way through a darksome tract of frozen country, and over fields of ice unlighted save by dim stars that shone uncertainly through the mist. At length further passage was barred by a high wall in which was a grate. Without hesitation Hermod put Sleipnir to this obstacle, he surmounted it with the ease and grace of a fawn, and they found themselves in Hela's realm. ”

“ So Hermod, o'er the fog between, saw Heaven.
And Sleipner snorted, for he smelt the air
Of Heaven; and mightily, as wing'd, he flew.
And Hermod saw the towers of Asgard rise;
And he drew near, and heard no living voice
In Asgard; and the golden halls were dumb.
Then Hermod knew what labour held the Gods;
And through the empty streets he rode, and pass'd
Under the gate-house to the sands, and found
The Gods on the sea-shore by Balder's ship. [121]
3. ”

“ The good horse Sleipner, who had carried Odin on so many strange journeys, had never travelled such a road before, and his hoofs rang drearily as he stopped short at the bridge, for in front of him stood its porter, the gigantic Modgud.
"Who are you?" she asked, fixing her piercing eyes on Hermod. "What is your name and parentage? Yesterday five bands of dead men rode across the bridge, and beneath them all it did not shake as under your single tread. There is no colour of death in your face. Why ride you hither, the living among the dead?"
"I come," said Hermod, "to seek for Balder. ”

“ Hermod, in the meantime, had journeyed across the rainbow bridge, and on and on toward the north until he reached the Giall river, which runs between the regions of Hela and the upper world. Well the guard of the bridge knew, when she heard on the bridge the noise of the horse's feet, that it was no shade who was crossing; but when Hermod told his errand, he was allowed to go on. And now his way led over trackless, slippery ice, on which scarce any other horse could have kept his footing; and surely no other horse could have leapt, as did Sleipnir, the gate to Hela's own realm. ”

“ So Hermod cheerfully made his way out of Hel’s dark realm, carrying with him the ring Draupnir, which Balder sent back to Odin, an embroidered carpet from Nanna for Frigga, and a ring for Fulla.
The Return of Hermod
The assembled gods crowded anxiously round Hermod as soon as he returned, and when he had delivered his messages and gifts, the Æsir sent heralds to every part of the world to bid all things animate and inanimate weep for Balder.
“Go quickly forth through all the world, and pray
All living and unliving things to weep
Balder, if haply he may thus be won!” ”

“ Hadvor told Hermod her dream, and said she suspected there was some one in the island who would be able to help them. Hermod said he knew of a Witch there, who was very ready to help anyone, and that the only plan was to go to her. So they went to the Witch’s cave, and found her there with her fifteen young sons, and asked her to help them to get to the mainland.
‘There are other things easier than that,’ said she, ‘for the Giant that was buried will be waiting for you, and will attack you on the way, as he has turned himself into a big whale. ”

“ Then the maiden said: "Why do you who are living try to cross this bridge? You shake it more than a whole army of dead men."
Hermod replied: "I come to seek Balder, the Beautiful, and I pray you let me pass quickly, for the gods wait wearily in Asgard." When the maiden saw that he was a god she hindered him no longer. ”

“ To the god’s amazement, this child grew with such marvelous rapidity that he soon attained his full growth, and then only did Hermod notice that he fiercely brandished a bow and arrows.
As Hermod was gazing fixedly upon this vision, Rossthiof began to speak, and declared that the stream of blood portended the murder of one of Odin’s sons, but that if the father of the gods wooed and won Rinda, in the land of the Ruthenes (Russia) , she would bear him a son who would attain his full growth in a few hours and would soon avenge his brother’s death. ”

“ As she slept she dreamed that a tall woman came to her and said, ‘I know that you are Princess Hadvor, and are searching for Hermod. He is on this island; but it will be hard for you to get to him if you have no one to help you, for you cannot climb the cliffs by your own strength. I have therefore let down a rope, by which you will be able to climb up; and as the island is so large that you might not find Hermod’s dwelling-place so easily, I lay down this clew beside you. You need only hold the end of the thread, and the clew will run on before and show you the way. ”

“ ONCE upon a time there were a King and a Queen who had an only daughter, called Hadvor, who was fair and beautiful, and being an only child, was heir to the kingdom. The King and Queen had also a foster son, named Hermod, who was just about the same age as Hadvor, and was good-looking, as well as clever at most things. Hermod and Hadvor often played together while they were children, and liked each other so much that while they were still young they secretly plighted their troth to each other. ”

“ When, what his own hath not conceived, another’s brain unfolds. [218]
“There, next to Thor,” thus Hermod said, “Starkodder, is thy seat.”
At times throughout the vast saloon flashes a splendour great;
It flashes from the shields that hang in rows against the wall;
The silver hilts and the steel blades a dazzling ray let fall.
When now the mead was drank, and when each Scald had ceased his song,
Enter’d the scoffer Asa-Lok the jovial guests among;
His nature is well-known: now red with insolence he grew;
And to the mock’ry of the gods exposed himself anew. ”

“ He even offered to take his place in Helheim if she pleased; but Hela only laughed at this and said: "You talk a great deal about Baldur, and boast how much every one loves him; I will prove now if what you have told me be true. Let everything on earth, living or dead, weep for Baldur, and he shall go home again; but if one thing only refuse to weep, then let Helheim hold its own; he shall not go."
"Every one will weep willingly," said Hermod, as he mounted Sleipnir and rode towards the entrance of the city. ”

“ Satisfied with this prophecy, Hermod returned to Asgard, where he reported all he had seen and heard to Odin. The father of the gods thus definitely ascertained that he was doomed to lose a son by a violent death. He soon consoled himself, however, by the thought that another of his descendants would avenge the murder and thereby obtain all the satisfaction which a true Northerner ever required. ”

“ The Gods held talk together, group'd in knots,
Round Balder's corpse, which they had thither borne;
And Hermod came down tow'rds them from the gate.
And Lok, the father of the serpent, first
Beheld him come, and to his neighbour spake:—
"See, here is Hermod, who comes single back
From Hell; and shall I tell thee how he seems?
Like as a farmer, who hath lost his dog,
Some morn, at market, in a crowded town—
Through many streets the poor beast runs in vain,
And follows this man after that, for hours ”

“ In vain did Hermod, the brother of Baldur, [41] undertake the journey to the realms of Hela. So much was accorded, that if all nature would agree to mourn for the death of Baldur, he should be restored to earth; but though everything did so, as the Edda has it, ‘Men and animals, and earth, and stones, and trees, and all metals, even as thou hast seen everything weep when it comes forth from the frost into the warm air, yet the giantess, Thaukt, who it is said was but Loki in disguise, refused to weep.’ ”

“ While Hermod was speeding along the cheerless road which led to Nifl-heim, the gods hewed and carried down to the shore a vast amount of fuel, which they piled upon the deck of Balder’s dragon-ship, Ringhorn, constructing an elaborate funeral pyre. ”

“ As Hermod was so remarkably quick the gods usually employed him as their messenger, and at a mere sign from Odin he was always ready to speed to any part of the world. As a special mark of favor, the king of gods gave him a magnificent corselet and helmet, which he often donned when he took part in war, and sometimes Odin intrusted to his care the precious spear Gungnir, bidding him cast it over the heads of combatants about to engage in battle, and thus kindle their ardor into murderous fury. ”

“ And hear the passage of a horse of heaven,
For the last time—for here thou com’st no more.”
He spake, and turned to go to the inner gloom.
But Hermod stayed him with mild words, and said,—
“Thou doest well to chide me, Hoder blind!
Truly thou say’st, the planning guilty mind
Was Lok’s: the unwitting hand alone was thine.
But gods are like the sons of men in this:
When they have woe, they blame the nearest cause.{127}
Howbeit stay, and be appeased; and tell,
Sits Balder still in pomp by Hela’s side,
Or is he mingled with the unnumbered dead?” ”

“ Hermod and Hadvor took but little notice of the Queen and her daughter, but, on the other hand, Hadvor and the Queen’s maid, whose name was Olof, were very friendly, and Olof came often to visit Hadvor in her castle. Before long the King went out to war, and no sooner was he away than the Queen came to talk with Hermod, and said that she wanted him to marry her daughter. ”

“ Then Hermód rode home to the hall, alighted, went in and saw his brother Baldr sitting in a high-seat; he stayed there the night. In the morning Hermód asked Hel to allow Baldr to ride home with him, and told how great weeping there was among the Asar. ”

“ So Hermod comes to-day unfollowed home.”
And straight his neighbor, moved with wrath, replied,—
“Deceiver! fair in form, but false in heart!
Enemy, mocker, whom, though gods, we hate,—
Peace, lest our father Odin hear thee gibe!
Would I might see him snatch thee in his hand,{115}
And bind thy carcass, like a bale, with cords,
And hurl thee in a lake, to sink or swim!
If clear from plotting Balder’s death, to swim;
But deep, if thou devisedst it, to drown,
And perish, against fate, before thy day.”
So they two soft to one another spake. ”

“ The little people waited in a crowd near the door, [7] wondering what was going to happen to them, while Hermod, the messenger of the gods, ran to his master to say that they had come.
Then the Allfather spoke to the little dwarfs about their evil deeds among men, and he told the naughtiest ones that they must go and live down underground, and look after the great furnace fire in the middle of the earth, to keep it always burning. Some must get coal to feed the fire, and others still were to have charge of the gold, and silver, and precious stones, under the rocks. ”

“ It is the only thing that can hurt him.”
About this time, the king returned home from the wars, and was greatly distressed at Hermod’s disappearance. He made inquiries and sent out messengers in all directions, but no trace of him could be found, and the queen had to use all her arts to console the king under the loss of his adopted son.
Hadvör meanwhile remained quietly in her own house. Following Olöf’s advice, she kept ready the boiling pitch for the giant, and had not long to wait. One night, shortly after the king’s return, she was suddenly awakened by a loud rumbling noise ”

“ For in that ice are lost those northern streams,
Freezing and ridging in their onward flow,
Which from the fountain of Vergelmer run,
The spring that bubbles up by Hela’s throne.
There are the joyless seats, the haunt of ghosts,
Hela’s pale swarms; and there was Balder bound.
Ride on! pass free! but he by this is there.”
She spake, and stepped aside, and left him room.
And Hermod greeted her, and galloped by
Across the bridge; then she took post again.{109}
But northward Hermod rode, the way below ”

“ Three of them are mentioned in other records—namely, Slidr in Völuspa, 36, Gjöll in that account of Hermod's journey to Hel's realm, which in its main outlines was rescued by the author of Gylfaginning (Gylfag., ch. 52) , and Leiptr in Helge Hund., ii. 31—and all three are referred to in such a way as to prove that they are subterranean rivers. Slid flows to the realms of torture, and whirls weapons in its eddies, presumably to hinder or frighten anybody from attempting to cross. Over Gjöll there is a bridge of gold to Balder's subterranean abode. ”

“ As the road was rough and painful in the extreme, none of the gods at first volunteered to go; but when Frigga added that she and Odin would reward the messenger by loving him most of all the Æsir, Hermod signified his readiness to execute the commission. To help him on his way, Odin lent him Sleipnir, and bade him good speed, while he motioned to the other gods to carry the corpse to Breidablik, and directed them to go to the forest and cut down huge pines to make a worthy pyre for his son. ”