Skaldenmet

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The Skaldenmet is a myth from the Nordic mythology . It is honey wine , after which everyone can sing and write poetry well.

Sources about the Skaldemet can be found most extensively in the works of Snorri Sturluson , somewhat differently in those poems of the Hávamál and finally in a series of Kenningar , which refer to the most essential contents of the myth. The Skaldenmet also attests to its popularity in the skaldic seals. There are also pictorial representations of some Gotlandic sculptors from the 7th century .

The familiarity of this myth has been proven in Europe for over 500 years, but can be traced back much further globally. We meet the drink Soma and the god Indra in the Indian mythology of Rigveda , which has essential similarities with this myth. The relationship between this myth and Greek mythology is rather a coincidence. (see below)

Skaldenmet after Snorri Sturluson

After the war ( Æsir-Vanir War ) between the two gods peoples, the Vanir and the Aesir , all gods spat to Friedensbesiegelung in a barrel. In the Bronze Age among different peoples saliva admixture was peace beverages an integral part. The same applies to the collective consumption of intoxicating drinks at ceremonies, covenants and peace agreements. From this saliva an extraordinarily wise being named Kvasir was born. This was murdered by the two black albums Fjallarr and Galarr and his blood was collected in a large and two small cauldrons. From the blood they brewed mead with the addition of honey , which everyone could become a poet by consuming it.

In the second episode of the story, the two dwarfs killed the giant Gillingr and his wife, but were caught by the giant's son, Suttungr , and could only save their lives by offering him the mead. Suttungr accepted the offer and kept the Skaldenmet in the mountain Hnitbjörg , where his daughter Gunnlöð guarded it.

To get to the Skaldenmet, Odin , who was regarded as the god of poetry and the administrator of the mead, set out and met the servants of the giant Baugi . He tricked them into killing each other and then worked as a mower for him under a different name. He replaced nine servants in his work, and as a reward he was to receive a sip of the skaldimets. Baugi then ran with his servant to his brother Suttungr , but the latter refused to give him even a drop.

Odin caused Baugi to drill a hole in the mountain Hnitbjörg with a drill, through which Odin slipped in the form of a serpent. After spending three nights with the giant daughter Gunnlöð , she gave him three gulps of mead as a thank you. Thereupon Odin turned into an eagle and flew to Asgard . There he spat the mead into the sir's bowls.

Skaldenmet after the Hávamál (104 - 110)

At first glance, this narrative seems the same as Snorri's, only in a few points it differs from it:

  • After Odin's robbery of the skaldmets, which in this poem does not appear in the form of a serpent or an eagle, the frost giants organized a search for the mead cauldron.
  • The giant is not called Suttungr here , but the same as Snorri's barrel of mead , namely Óðrœrir .
  • Hnitbjörg does not even appear in the poetry.
  • Odin got drunk at Gunnlöð's , who is the daughter of someone else (namely Fjallarr ).

Skaldenmet after the Kenningar

Most of the details of Snorri's tales are confirmed by old Kenningar. Namely:

  • Kvasir's blood
  • Gillingr's assassination
  • Dwarf drink
  • The flood of dwarves hidden in the mountain
  • Odin's theft
  • Eagle's beak seeds

etymology

Kvasir

In Gylf 49 , Snorri describes Kvasir as the wisest of all Aesir, in Ynglinga saga 4 he calls him the wisest of the Vanes. Originally, Kvasir is the name for the fermented juice made from berries. (Norwegian kvase , Russian kvas .)

Fjallarr and Galarr

The meaning of the dwarf brother Fjallar is uncertain. It could fit for fela , "The Verberger". Or it comes from the New Norwegian fjela , which means "scout". The most recent declarations interpret the name as "Verberger, Fraudger".

Galarr, on the other hand, clearly comes from the Old Norse word for "screamers".

Gillingr

Gillingr comes from Old Norse and means "the noise" (screamers)

Suttungr

The lack of information from the dial poetry gives Suttungr a rather meager position, and it is therefore not possible to obtain a more precise definition of his name from the myth. Possibly Suttungr means: suþþungr , d. H. "Weighted by the potion", or it comes from the Norwegian word sutta , "move quickly". The unclear position of Suttungr also raises the question of whether the giant actually played a role in the original form of the saga or whether Snorri provided him with this position in the first place.

Gunnlöð

This is Old Norse and means "invitation to fight". This name would actually be more typical for a Valkyrie . In addition, this is the name of the daughter of Suttungr, who left the Odrörir to her to guard after receiving it from the dwarves Fialar and Galar in exchange for their lives. The drink was later stolen from her by Odin through ruse.

Hnitbjörg

This is old Norse and means "shock rock". Through the name a connection to the opening and closing mountains of some fairy tales is seen. The interpretation as a gate to the underworld is also conceivable. It is well known that the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are very much based on the old legends of Nordic mythology.

Baugi

Baugi means "the crooked one". He is used at Snorri as the brother of Suttungr. Baugi and his figure should therefore have been invented by him.

Óðrœrir

In Old Norse, this means something like: “The one who stimulates ecstasy”, but also simply “intoxicating drink” and “rejuvenating drink”. Originally the word was a synonym for the Skaldenmet itself. Snorri changed this to the Hávamál through an unclear passage.

Parallels to the Indian Rig Veda and other mythologies

Soma was also a cultic dense potion that Indra stole from a hiding place in the mountain by means of a bird, possibly himself in the form of a bird. He too narrowly escaped.

Among the Greeks, an eagle brought the divine nectar from a high mountain spring to the maturing Zeus in his hiding place on Crete.

Gunnlöð's seduction of Odin can also be found in Greek mythology , namely in the saga of Zeus and Persephone . This is locked in a cave when Zeus approaches in the shape of a snake.

This indicates a common heritage from the Indo-European era.

literature