Norse and Danish Grave Mounds.
Amongst the ancient monuments of Britain the well-known remains called Druidical Circles hold a foremost place, though their use, and the people by whom they were erected, are questions which still remain matters of dispute. The Stone enclosures of Denmark, which resemble the Circles of Cumbria in many respects, mainly differ from them, in that they are found in connection with burial chambers, whilst the latter are generally situated on the flat surface of moors, with nothing to indicate that they have ever been used for sepulchural purposes. Therefore wherever no urns or other remains have been found, we have negative evidence that the place was not intended for a place of sepulture.
CALDER STONE No 1
OUTER SURFACE.
INNER SURFACE.
Cairns which are the most undisputed form of a Celtic burial place were once very numerous in the northern districts: but a great many have long since been removed. The graves of Norway bear an outward resemblance to the Celtic Cairn, but the main cause appears to be that in mountainous countries stones are more easily procurable than earth. Where a doubt exists as to the proprietorship of these mounds, the only means of deciding is by an examination of the interior. The Norse Cairn should enclose a stone chest or wooden chamber and iron weapons. The Norwegians burned the body until about their conversion to Christianity.
CALDER STONE No 2.
OUTER ASPECT, TWO SIDES.
INNER SIDE.
CALDER STONE No 3.
OUTER ASPECT TWO SIDES.
INNER SIDE
Tumuli or barrows still remain in great numbers. As far as records have been kept of those removed, nearly all must be claimed for the Bronze age, and the main part of those yet standing are essentially of a Danish character. In the description of this class of graves, we have no actual mention of iron antiquities.
The Cairn called Mill Hill, Westmoreland, appears to have been a Celtic burial place, whilst Loden How was more probably Danish than Norse. Four different names are found in connection with sepulchres of this kind, viz., "how, raise, barrow, and hill," but the distinction is principally that of age, and the order of the words as here placed indicates the period to which each belongs.
Few traces of the Iron age can be regarded as exclusively Norwegian wherever the body has been burned. Ormstead, near Penrith, was possibly a Norse burial place; while Thulbarrow, in the same neighbourhood, was in all probability Danish.
Memorial stones still remain in considerable numbers, the most remarkable of which is the Nine Standards in Westmoreland. Several villages called Unthank take their names from Monuments no longer in existence, the word being in English "onthink," and the phrase "to think on" is still current in the dialect.
[Mythology]
[CHAPTER XIII.]
Mythology.
The religious conceptions of the most famous nations of antiquity are connected with the beginnings of civilisation. We are told by Dr. Wägner, in his work "Asgard and the Gods," of the traditions of our northern ancestors, the story of the myths and legends of Norse antiquity. The first of their heroes was Odin, the god of battles, armed with his war spear, followed by the Walkyries, who consecrate the fallen heroes with a kiss, and bear them away to the halls of the gods, where they enjoy the feasts of the blessed. Later, Odin invents the Runes, through which he gains the power of understanding and ruling all things. He thus becomes the spirit of nature, the all-father. Then the ash tree, "Yggdrasil," grew up; the tree of the universe, of time, and life. The boughs stretched out to heaven, and over-shadowed Walhalla, the hall of the heroes. This world-tree was evergreen, watered daily by the fateful Norns, and could not wither until the last battle should be fought, where life, time, and the world were all to pass away. This was related by a skald, the northern bard, to the warriors while resting from the fatigue of fighting, by tables of mead.
The myths were founded on the belief of the Norse people, regarding the creation of the world, gods, and men, and thus we find them preserved in the songs of the "Edda. The vague notion of a Deity who created and ruled over all things had its rise in the impression made upon the human mind by the unity of nature. The sun, moon, and stars, clouds and mists, storms and tempests, appeared to be higher powers, and took distinct forms in the mind of man. The sun was first regarded as a fiery bird which flew across the sky, then as a horse, and afterwards as a chariot and horses; the clouds were cows, from whose udders the fruitful rain poured down. The storm-wind appeared as a great eagle that stirred the air by the flapping of his enormous wings. These signs of nature seemed to resemble animals. On further consideration it was found that man was gifted with the higher mental powers. It was then acknowledged that the figure of an animal was an improper representation of a divine being. They thus inverted the words of Holy writ, that "God created man in his own image," and men now made the gods in their own likeness, but still regarded them as greater, more beautiful, and more ideal than themselves.
From the titles of these pagan gods we derive the names of our days of the week, and thus we continue to perpetuate in our daily life the story of Norse mythology. The first day of the week was dedicated to the worship of the sun. The second day to that of the moon. The third day was sacred to Tyr, the god of war. The fourth day was sacred to Wodin, or Odin, the chief deity. The fifth day was sacred to Thor, the god of thunder. The sixth day of the week, Friday, was sacred to Frigga, the wife of the great Odin. The seventh or last day of the week was dedicated by the Romans to Saturn, one of the planets, their god of agriculture, whose annual festival was a time of unrestrained enjoyment.
The "Eddas" were two Scandinavian books, the earlier a collection of mythological and heroic songs, and the other a prose composition of old and venerable traditions. These books were meant for the instruction of the Norse skalds and bards. It is believed that the learned Icelander, Saemund, the Wise, compiled the older Edda in 1056 from oral traditions, and partly from runic writings. The younger Edda is supposed to have been compiled by Bishop Snorri Sturlason in 1178, and this collection goes by the name of Snorra-Edda. The language was developed by means of the sagas and songs which had been handed down among the people from generation to generation.
The Norns were the three fatal sisters, who used to watch over the springs of water, and appeared by the cradle of many a royal infant to give it presents. On such occasions two of them were generally friendly to the child, while the third prophesied evil concerning it. In the pretty story of the "Sleeping Beauty" these Norns appear as the fairies.