Myth is a means of apprehending and communicating value in the world in an internally consistent way, using narrative as a vehicle^[1]. Myth and myth making are emotional and creative interactions which, in a sense, might seem non rational. Rational discourse on myth seeks to de-mythologise, to ‘explain’ the non-rational, a process which severs myth from its emotional basis^[2]. Myths should first and foremost be read and enjoyed. In each reading, as in each telling, the myth is transformed by its interaction with the individual, an individual who is caught in and cannot be divorced from matters contemporaneous. This essay will firstly analyse some important mythological theory, with a view to establishing the limitation of such theory, before the focus is narrowed to analyse the nature of Norse mythical poetry. Icelandic literature, especially poetry, has been seen as a literary phenomenon, a cultural pinnacle, standing in sharp contrast to the image of the ‘bloodthirsty’ viking raider. However, the two are not mutually exclusive. Egil Skala-Grimsson, the famous Norse poet, led an illustrious viking life, raiding and killing his way from Norway to England. Poetry was very important to the Scandinavian religion, whose sovereign god was the god of poetic inspiration. The many myths which deal with the origins of poetry also attest to this importance. This essay will conclude by an examination of the nature and relation of Odinn, poetry and Norse religion.

Myth and theory.
Late nineteen century theories of myth, such as those presented by J.G.Frazer^[3], rely on a connection between myth and ritual, where mythology represents the theoretical component of the more practical ritual. In terms of the relationship between myth and ritual in an ancient context, it is recognised that the limited evidence would render such relationships speculative. It is also important to consider that this theory does not fit with many contemporary ethnographic accounts of myth and ritual^[4]. From these accounts it can be seen that mythology, although associated with some aspects of ritual, is not necessarily the basis of all ritual. Ritual, like myth, is dynamic and communicative, ritual can use myth as the basis for symbolism but this is not necessarily always the case. Despite its frequent association with ritual, myth must be regarded as essentially a self contained cognitive system, one which is internally consistent, a logical paradigm, rational yet metaphoric^[5].

Many believe that myth is closely associated with establishing social mores. This functionalist view is however limited and fails to recognise that myth also articulates modes of behaviour beyond that which is socially acceptable, and in some cases seems to promote them^[6]. In this, any effective study of myth must consider the mythic relationship to society, but despite this important social element it must also be recognised that myth has important communicative and intellectual elements for the individual. Myth is both socially and intellectually engaged^[7] and so one must not only consider the material and social world expressed by myth but also the intellectual world. Other students of myth show an historicist approach to myth, attempting to recover an ‘original’ version of myth and reclaim it as some primal verity. Myth however is not a monolithic entity, it exists in various forms at various times and shows regional variation, depending on the needs of the community^[8]. Every variant narrative, every fragmentary detail is valuable, there is no original or correct version of any myth.

Norse Literature.
Close to the year 1220 an Icelandic scholar, Snorri Sturluson, produced his famous work entitled Edda. This work of prose was to provide a guide for the writing of traditional poetry, an art which Snorri felt was in decline. Snorri’s material was structured using the vehicle of Scandinavian myth, and in this work many myths are either told or alluded to. Although Christian, many believe that Snorri did in fact preserve many of the values of old Norse society especially since Iceland had only adopted Christianity in 1000 C.E^[9]. Snorri was a native of Iceland, he had travelled the Scandinavian lands widely, and may have been exposed to some pagan practices which survived in Sweden until the end of the Twelfth century. Despite this there is undoubtable evidence of strong Christian theoretical premises to his work, the prologue which euhemerises the gods and claims that the religion of the north is a natural religion which developed after the great flood^[10].

Snorri’s Edda remained one of the main sources of information on the old Scandinavian religion, until in 1642 a Bishop Brynjolfur Sveinsson obtained a codex of poetics, believed to have been compiled by Saemundr Sigfusson ‘the Wise’ (1056-1133). The codex found by Bishop Brynjolfur was presented to King Frederick the III of Denmark and since has become known as the Codex Regius^[11]. Among the few mythological lays in the Codex Regius are Havamal and Voluspa^[12], which were the first of the collection to reach print in 1665. The codex, dated c.1270, is believed to have been copied from one or more older texts, the oldest literary recordings being those cited in Snorri’s Edda (c.1220)^[13].

Essentially there are two poetic forms which emerge from the Nordic culture, Eddic poetry (mostly contained in the Codex Regius) is rhythmic and alliterative and resembles much Old English poetry, and is either mythical or related to heroic legend. The mythic poetry of the Edda are of two main kinds: narratives, usually illustrative or pedagogic in nature, and didactic poems^[14]. Many poems such as Havamal reflect both elements. The codex is important to the study of Norse heathenism as it contains several purely mythical lays and also heroic lays with mythical allusions to the gods and other inhabitants of the Norse mythic world. It has been said that it is impossible to understand Norse religion, literature or history without some knowledge of this type of poetry^[15]. A later poetic development was that of skaldic poetry, an art highly patronised by nobility, usually dealing with the events of contemporary history, and unlike Eddic poetry, usually attributed to a specific poet. This form of poetry is marked firstly by its formalism, every syllable is counted and also by the use of periphrases (kennings) which developed the use of metaphor beyond that of the earlier Eddic poetry^[16]. Kennings are given to many aspects of the Norse world, from the gods to the sea, from poetry to ships. Among the most numerous kennings are names for Odinn (eg. HangaTyr- Tyr of the hanged, or hrafenass-raven deity^[17].) also plentiful are kennings for poetry such as Kvasir’s blood^[18]. The Skaldic poets honed their use of language against an ever evolving interpretation of the myths, they explored the meaning of their myths. Skaldic poetry opened up a vast hermeneutical well for Norse poetry and myth and brought with it some of the most artistic use of language during the middle ages^[19]. There is also literature which would seem to be transitional between these two poetic forms such as Eiriksmal a skaldic poem written in Eddic form^[20]. Then there are the poems of the legendary Egill Skalla-Grimsson, which are skaldic yet contain much mythical material usually contained in Eddic poetry^[21].

The fact that poetry is so important to Norse mythic literature is evidenced in the narratives of Odinn’s winning of the mead of poetic inspiration. Odinn is the first to bring the art of Poetry to Asgard, the home of the gods. This narrative is also given in prose form in Snorri’s Edda, however the most important poetic references to this narrative are contained in the Eddic poem Havamal. The theft is alluded to in three variant forms in Havamal which would indicate that this narrative existed in different forms^[22]. Snorri could not have obtained the detailed version in his Edda^[23] (p. 61-64) purely from Havamal, which is not a detailed account, but merely a series of allusions to the winning of the mead. Possibly Snorri had more then one source for his version and one not contained in Havamal. The myths of Odinn winning the mead of poetry are reflected in other Indo-European myths which relate to the gaining of wisdom, particularly the story of the salmon of wisdom, also Indra and his drink soma. Other poems in the Edda also reflect this story particularly Fafnismal (31-32) which tells how Sigurd gained wisdom from drinking the blood of a dragon’s heart and also echoes the story of Finn and the salmon of wisdom^[24].

Poetry and Germanic Religion.
Evidence for an ancient Germanic religion is primarily based on external commentaries such as those of Caesar ^[25] and Tacitus^[26]. These are valuable sources, though not entirely reliable, since they reflect the agendas of their authors. The earliest source material in the vernacular is from medieval Iceland, an historical and geographic context distinct from that of “The Gallic Wars” or “Germania”. Yet within the corpus of Eddic poetry there exists evidence that such poetry does hark back to very ancient sources, albeit much distorted by transmission. The earliest datable event in Norse literature is the death of Ermanaric the Goth (375 C.E.), some eight hundred years before the poems reached a written form^[27]. This would indicate that the stories contained in the Edda do represent the continuation of an oral tradition which would seem to be at least eight hundred years old. If one considers that many of the tales of the Edda reflect broad elements of stories which appear to have been common to the Indo-European peoples^[28], then one is faced with the possibility that this oral tradition is older still. The Edda’s and Saga’s only allude to or recall aspects of myth and ritual, making interpretation difficult. Ultimately this religion cannot be reconstructed in any real sense, the gulf of time is too great, the evidence too “ill-assorted” ^[29] and it is impossible to have full empathy for a people so removed from our own lives. We can only hope to tease out motifs and themes which were important to these people and through reading their literature attempt to share in their perceptions.

The presence of Odinn dominates Icelandic mythic poetry and prose, yet there is little cultic or place name evidence in Iceland which would relate to Odinn or an Odinnic cult^[30]. Why should a God who has had such a great impact on Icelandic literature leave so slight a mark on its landscape? This might be due to the fact that Odinn is the god of the most literate section of the Icelandic community, the God of poets, and hence celebrated by them. It is possible that the myths do not in fact accurately represent the nature of religious practice in Norse lands. It is possible that we only have access to a privileged, literate, male discourse. The preservation of poetics dedicated to Odinn is not surprising when one considers his role as God of poetic inspiration, and his role in the winning of the mead of poetry. There are many scaldic kennings for poetry which refer to the narrative of the theft, Odinn himself is said to speak only in poetry^[31].

That the poets’ love for this God is probably related to him being patron of poetic inspiration is corroborated by the first stanza of Egil Skala-Grimsson’s poem Sonnatorrek (lament for my sons).