In an earlier chapter (p. [255]) we quoted from the Life of St Ansgar the story of a man who claimed to have been present at an assembly of the gods. From this story it is clear that in Sweden not very long after the beginning of the Viking Age the gods were believed to form an organised community. For earlier times no such explicit information is to be found; but we can scarcely doubt that some similar belief prevailed during the Heroic Age. In the Langobardic story quoted above (p. [115]) Fria (Frigg) is the wife of Wodan, as in the Edda. In the (second) Merseburg charm we find a number of deities taking part in an incantation. Of the goddesses Sunna is said to be the sister of Sinthgunt, and Volla the sister of Fria. Evidence to the same effect is furnished by a letter of Bishop Daniel of Winchester to St Boniface, in which the writer speaks of a genealogy of the gods and advises his correspondent to put awkward questions to the heathen regarding the origin, numbers and relationships of their deities[602]. It may be noted that the earlier Anglo-Saxon genealogies, which go back probably to the seventh century, trace Woden's ancestry back for five generations.
Of course it is not to be denied that some of the deities of whom we hear may have been recognised only locally or by certain nations or confederacies. Such an explanation is very likely in the case of more than one deity mentioned by Tacitus, whom we cannot identify with any probability. In later times the same may be true of the god Fosite[603], to whom an island in the North Sea—identified with Heligoland by Adam of Bremen—was wholly dedicated. It is quite possible too that the god Seaxneat (Saxnote), who is mentioned in the Renunciation Formula and from whom the kings of Essex claimed descent, was worshipped only by the Saxons.
But even if such evidence was a good deal stronger than it actually is we should not be justified in inferring from it that the religion of the Heroic Age was of an essentially national rather than universal character. It is not only in Northern records of the Viking Age or the Christian period that we hear of families which were supposed to be descended from Othin (Woden). Out of the eight royal genealogies of the English kingdoms which have come down to us seven are traced back to the same deity; and it is highly probable that most of these date from before the conversion[604]—i.e. from within a century of the Heroic Age. But Woden was not a national but a universal deity.
Moreover what little we do know of this god from English and German sources is in full conformity with the character which he bears in Northern records. In the Anglo-Saxon poem on the Nine Herbs he is skilled in magic; in the Merseburg poem he is an expert in incantations. In the Langobardic story we find him represented as the giver of victory. In Tacitus' time he was already worshipped above the other gods; and human victims were offered to him. The same author (Ann. XIII 57) records the custom of dedicating a hostile army to Mars and Mercurius—a vow which entailed the total destruction of everything belonging to the enemy. The great deposits of antiquities which have been found at Thorsbjærg, Nydam, Vi and elsewhere are commonly believed to be relics of such dedicatory spoils. Finally, later popular belief often placed Woden at the head of the Wild Hunt or ghostly army. For the existence of a conception corresponding to Valhalla we have no explicit evidence[605]. But such a doctrine would clearly be in full accord with all that we know of the cult.
In funeral rites both inhumation and cremation were practised. The latter custom however seems to have died out almost everywhere before the introduction of Christianity—in England about the middle of the sixth century, among the Franks and Alamanni much earlier. Only among the Old Saxons it lingered apparently until towards the close of the eighth century, when it was rigorously put down after their subjugation[606]. How far the two practices were associated with different conceptions of immortality, as in the North, it is impossible to tell. In Beowulf (cf. p. [54]) cremation is regarded as a pious duty owed to the dead; but all heathen references to the destiny of the soul hereafter have been removed from the poem. On the other hand there is evidence from later times for offerings at the grave, necromancy and all other practices usually associated with the cult of the dead[607].
The most important piece of evidence however on this subject is furnished by Procopius' account of the Heruli (Goth. II 14). He states that with them it was not lawful for a man to die of old age or disease. When he felt himself to be dying he had to request his relatives to make away with him as soon as possible. They had then to construct a huge pyre and set the dying man in the highest part of it. A compatriot, though not a relative (cf. p. [346]), is then sent up to stab the man, and on his return the wood is immediately kindled. When the fire is burnt out the remains are collected and buried forthwith, and the widow is required to strangle herself at the tomb. Such rites as this are commonly ascribed to the desire to set the soul free while in possession of its faculties. But in view of the fact that in Northern tradition cremation is bound up with the doctrine of Valhalla[608]—a doctrine which is in no way inconsistent with this explanation—it is certainly significant that the two rites should be associated here, more especially since the Heruli were an essentially military people. On the whole the evidence of this passage is distinctly favourable to the view that a belief closely approximating to the doctrine of Valhalla was prevalent during the Heroic Age.
Valkyries (walcyrgan) are not unfrequently mentioned in Anglo-Saxon literature[609], and it is clear that similar beings were known in Germany, though this word does not occur in extant records. In England, as in the North, both human and supernatural beings were included under this term, though they are not always clearly distinguished from witches. But, more than this, the poetic description of valkyries which we find in the Edda[610] can likewise be traced in Anglo-Saxon poetry. In a charm against sudden pains we hear of mighty women who rode over the hill, mustered their host and cast their spears. The idea that sudden pains were due to the agency of such beings[611] comes doubtless from popular belief; but the description cannot be accounted for in this way. Again, in the (first) Merseburg charm we find supernatural women (idisi) taking part in a battle; and it is to be remembered that the word walcyrge can hardly mean anything else than 'chooser of the slain.' Certainly we have no evidence to prove—or disprove—that the valkyries were associated with Woden in early times. But the features noted here again point clearly to the existence of a conception akin to Valhalla and, what is more, to the poetic treatment of such a conception.
In the course of this discussion[612] I have endeavoured to point out that the theological system of the Edda cannot properly be regarded as an invention of (Norwegian-Icelandic) poets of the Viking Age—that, on the contrary, it is derived in great measure from much earlier times. I do not mean to deny that the growth of the system has been very largely influenced by poetry. But the evidence seems to me to show that the poetic treatment of the subject had begun—and probably more than begun—in the Heroic Age and among many of the Teutonic peoples. It is perfectly true that the notices of Teutonic religion contained in Tacitus' works convey the impression that religion was regarded as a very serious matter and that the general attitude towards the gods was highly reverential. The same impression is conveyed by Alcuin's account of Fositesland; and probably no one will deny that the euthanasia of the Heruli was based upon a very real conception of immortality. But to compare such records with the poetry of the Edda would manifestly be absurd. For analogies to them we must turn to notices relating to actual religion, and here we shall find evidence that the people of the Viking Age were no less religious than those of earlier times. We may instance the reverence shown by Thórolfr of Mostr to his holy hill and Earl Haakon's devotion to Thórgerðr Hölgabrúðr.
On the other hand the attitude towards the gods shown in the Edda finds an exact analogy in the only record of 'theological' poetry which has survived from the Heroic Age. In the Langobardic story (cf. p. [115]) the anthropomorphisation of the deities is already complete; and the chief god[613] is duped by his wife. We could scarcely wish for a better parallel to the account given in the introduction to Grímnismál. In view of this story it is scarcely possible to doubt that familiarity, not to say levity, in the treatment of the gods characterised the poetry of the Heroic Age, just as much as that of the Viking Age.