[29]. Nót.
[30]. Jörð.
[31]. Dagr.
[32]. The learned and enlightened Christian imagines Heaven as a place or state of being, where evil, sin, and pain are unknown; and where the celestial employments will consist of investigating the works of the Creator, and glorifying his name. The poor Indian dreams of pleasant hunting-grounds—some happy island in the watery waste—and thinks,
——“admitted to that equal sky,
His faithful dog shall bear him company.”
An old lady who had just “experienced religion,” was asked what she thought would be the employments of the good in heaven; or how they would pass their time. She replied, that she thought she would be permitted to sit all day, in a clean, white apron, and sing psalms. We need not smile at the simplicity of the good old dame; for, is it not probable that the celestial labors and enjoyments will as far exceed the ideas of the most learned Christian, as his imagination goes beyond that of the good woman, or the rude joys of the unlettered savage?
CHAPTER XXV
EARLY LITERATURE OF THE ICELANDERS—EDDAS AND SAGAS—MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PERIOD—EXTRACTS FROM THE POETIC EDDA.
ACCORDING to the system of the Northmen, man and woman were the last and most perfect productions of the creative power. After the Æsir, the Jötuns and the Dwarfs had a being. Odin and two other deities were walking on the sea-shore, and came to two trees, and from them they made the first man, ASK, and the first woman, EMBLA. They had allotted to them, for a residence, Midgard, which, from being the home of man, was called Mannheim; and from these two, Ask and Embla, are descended the whole human race. Some time after this, Heimdal, the warder and trumpeter of the gods, wandered over the earth under the name of Rigr. He was received and hospitably entertained by the descendants of Ask and Embla; first by Ai—Great Grandfather,—and Edda—Great Grandmother,—who dwelt in a lowly hut; next by Afi—Grandfather,—and Amma—Grandmother,—living in a comfortable habitation; and, lastly, by Father and Mother,[[33]] who occupied a splendid mansion. The deity, by his beneficent presence, infuses a vital energy into his hosts; and, in due time after his departure, Edda, Amma, and Mother, each give birth to a son. The infants are sprinkled with water at the moment of their birth: Edda’s son is called Thræll—Thrall; Amma’s, Karl—Churl; and Mother’s, Jarl, or Noble; and these three, Thrall, Churl, and Noble, have each a numerous offspring. Here is an aristocratic explanation of the three castes that appear, at an early period, to have formed the frame-work of Scandinavian society,—the thralls, or slaves; the churls, or free peasants—odalsmen, as they were afterwards termed; and the nobles. The poet, in his Edda,[[34]] describes the thralls as having black hair, an unsightly countenance, uncouth appearance, and of low and deformed stature; physiological traits characteristic of the Lapps, who were probably reduced to a state of vassalage by their Scandinavian conquerors. The destiny of the thralls is to toil incessantly, in order that by their labor the churls may obtain sufficient produce from the earth to enable the nobles to live with becoming splendor. The poet shows his contempt for this class, by giving Thrall’s sons such names as Frousy, Stumpy, Plumpy, Sootyface, Slowpace, Homespun, &c., and calling his daughters Lazybody, Cranefoot, Smokynose, and Tearclout. Among the churls, sons of Karl, we find such names as Stiffbeard, Husbandman, Holder (of land), and Smith; the daughters being designated Prettyface, Swanlike, Blithespeech, Chatterbox, &c. The poet, though, reserves the most of his eloquence for the nobles, who, he says, have fair hair, a clear complexion, and fine piercing eyes; their sole avocations being to wield the sword, dart the javelin, rein the fiery steed, chase the deer, and other elegant amusements, which Jarl’s descendants still delight to astonish the churls with. Jarl—equivalent to Earl—marries Erna—Lively—the daughter of Hersir—Baron; but the poet only gives the names of the sons; names that usually designate relationship, as Cousin, Nephew, &c.