And that thou, king,
Art the thief of my property.”
(Olaf the Quiet’s Saga (Heimskr.), c. 10.)
Not only was it believed that the form could be changed, but it was further believed that by eating some peculiar kind of food the temper of men could be changed. The meat and blood of strong and fierce beasts, especially of wolves, were held potent to make men brave and fierce, and thus partake of the nature of animals.
“Thereafter Regin came to Sigurd, and said: ‘Hail, my lord; a great victory hast thou won, as thou hast slain Fafnir, and no one was so bold before as to dare to sit in his way, and this deed of fame will be remembered while the world stands. Regin stood looking on the ground for a long while, and then suddenly said, with great anger: Thou hast slain my brother, and scarcely can I be innocent of this deed.’ Sigurd took his sword Gram and wiped it on the grass, and said to Regin: ‘Thou wast far off when I did this deed, and tried this sharp sword with my hand and my strength. I had to fight the power of the serpent, when thou didst lay in a heather cluster, and didst not know heaven from earth.’ Regin answered: ‘This serpent might have lain long time in his lair if thou hadst not used the sword which I made for thee with my hand, and then thou hadst not done this alone.’ Sigurd said: ‘When men come to fight, it is better to have a good heart than a sharp sword.’ Then Regin said to him very sadly: ‘Thou didst slay my brother, and scarcely can I be innocent of this deed.’
“Then Sigurd cut out the serpent’s heart with a sword called Ridil. Regin drank the blood of Fafnir, and said: ‘Do one thing for me which is easy to thee; go to a fire with the heart and roast it, and give it me to eat.’ Sigurd went away and roasted it on a spit, and when the blood came out of it, he touched it with his finger to see if it were roasted; he put his finger in his mouth, and when the serpent’s heart-blood touched his tongue he understood the speech of birds; he heard nuthatches (Sitta Europæa) chirp in the brushwood near him—‘There thou sittest, Sigurd, roasting the heart of Fafnir; he (Sigurd) should eat it himself, then he would become wiser than any other man.’ Another said: ‘There lies Regin, wishing to betray the one who trusts him.’ The third one said: ‘Let him (Sigurd) cut off his head, then he can rule alone over the great gold.’ The fourth one said: ‘He would be wiser if he acted according to our advice, and rode to the lair of Fafnir, and took the great gold which is there, and then rode up to Hindarfjall (Hind-fell), where Brynhild sleeps, where he will learn great wisdom; he would be wise if he took your advice, and thought of what he ought to do (namely, to slay Regin); where I see the ears I expect the wolf.’ The fifth said: ‘He (Sigurd) is not so wise as I think if he spares him (Regin), having slain his brother.’ The sixth said: ‘It would be a bold deed if he slew him, and ruled alone over the gold.’ Then Sigurd said: ‘It is not my fate that Regin is my slayer, but both the brothers ought rather to go the same way.’ He drew the sword Gram and cut off Regin’s head. After this he ate part of the serpent’s heart, and kept part of it. Then he jumped on his horse and rode on Fafnir’s track to his room, and found it open; all the doors were of iron, and also the door-fittings, and all the beams, and it was dug into the ground. Sigurd found there very much gold, and the sword Hrotti, and there he took the helmet of terror, and the golden coat-of-mail, and many costly things. He found there so much gold that he thought likely that two or three horses would not carry more. He put it all in two chests, and took the bridle of the horse Grani, which would not walk, and it was no use to whip it. He found what the horse wished, jumped on its back and spurred it, and it ran as if it had no burden on its back” (Volsunga Saga, c. 19).
“When it drew near to Yule, people became uncheerful, Bödvar asked Hött why this was. He told him a large and terrible animal had come there for two winters; it had wings on its back, and always flew: for two autumns it had come, and done much damage; weapons did not wound it, and the best champions of the King did not come home. Bödvar said: ‘The hall is not so well manned[[392]] as I thought, if one creature is to lay waste the realm and property of the king.’ Hött replied that it was not an animal, but the worst fiend. On Yule-eve the King said: ‘I want people to be quiet and silent this night, and I forbid all my men to endanger themselves against the animal; with the property let it happen as it may, but I do not want to lose my men.’ Every man promised to do as he ordered. Bödvar stole away in the night with Hött, who went unwillingly, saying that he was taken to death, while Bödvar said it would not be so. As they left the hall, Bödvar was obliged to carry him, he was so frightened. When they saw the beast, Hött shouted as loud as he could, and cried that it was going to swallow him. Bödvar told the animal to be silent, and flung him down in the moss; there he lay, not without fear, nor dared he go home. Bödvar now went against the beast; it happened that his sword was fast in the scabbard; at last he got the scabbard turned, so that the sword came out; he thrust at once under its shoulder so strongly that he pierced the heart, and it fell dead. Then he went to where Hött lay; he took him, and carried him to the place where the beast lay dead. Hött trembled violently. Bödvar said: ‘Now thou shalt drink its blood.’ He was long unwilling, but dared not, however, disobey. Bödvar made him swallow two large mouthfuls, and eat some of the beast’s heart; then took hold of him, and they wrestled a long while. Bödvar said: ‘Thou hast become rather strong, and I do not think thou art now afraid of the hirdmen of King Hrolf.’ Hött replied: ‘I will not be afraid of them nor of thee hereafter.’ Bödvar answered: ‘That is good, my companion Hött; let us go and lift up the beast, and arrange it so that others will think it alive.’ This they did. After this they went home quietly, and no one knew what they had done” (Hrolf Kraki’s Saga, c. 35).[[393]]
There were several different drinks, known under different names, prepared in a special manner and with incantations, which were supposed to possess special properties. For these magical drinks, which were believed to have great power, many things were mixed, and runes were used, partly as formularies over the drink, or carved on trees or bones which were thrown into it[[394]]; in the latter case this was done to excite love for the one in whose behalf the potion was given. Chief among these drinks was the drink of oblivion (Uminnisveig), a drink prepared to remove sorrow from the mind.
Gudrun went from Denmark home to her mother Grimhild who gave her the drink of oblivion.
Grimhild brought to me