into the palace of Odin, have every day the pleasure of arming themselves, of passing in review, of ranging themselves in order of battle, and of cutting one another in pieces; but as soon as the hour of repast approaches, they return on horseback all safe and sound back to the hall of Odin, and fall to eating and drinking. Though the number of them cannot be counted, the flesh of the boar Sæhrimnir is sufficient for them all; every day it is served up at table, and every day it is renewed again entire: their beverage is ale and mead; one single goat, whose milk is excellent mead, furnishes enough of that liquor to intoxicate all the heroes. Odin alone drinks wine for his entire liquor. A crowd of virgins wait upon the heroes at table, and fill their cups as fast as they empty them." Such was that happy state, the bare hope of which rendered all the inhabitants of the north of Europe intrepid, and which made them not only to defy, but even seek with ardour the most cruel deaths. Accordingly King Ragnar Lodbrok, when he was going to die, far from uttering groans, or forming complaints, expressed his joy by these verses. "We are cut to pieces with swords; but this fills me with joy, when I think of the feast that is preparing for me in Odin's palace. Quickly, quickly seated in the splendid habitation of the gods, we shall drink beer out of curved horns*. A brave man fears not to die. 1 shall utter no timorous words as I

We have substituted "curved horns" for "the skulls of our enemies ;" Finn Magnusen, and Professor Rask having shown that this is the true meaning of the original passage, literally "soon shall we drink ale out of the curved branches of the skull," i. e. of an animal, a figurative expression employed by the Skald to indicate the usual drinking horns, and that Olaus Wormius, Bartholin and other writers of that period, whom our author has followed, were totally mistaken in rendering it "ex concavis crateribus craniorum," and "ex concavis craniorum poculis," or as one of them gives it, "confestim, ex cranibus hostium capacitate conspicuis, cerevisiam bibemus." It is this mistake that has given rise to the erroneous notion, that the heroes of Valhalla drank their ale out of the skulls of those they had slain in battle.

"They thought

One day from Ella's skull to quaff the mead,
Their valour's guerdon,"

says Southey. We think that a daily dinner consisting solely of boiled pork, washed down with ale and an occasional draught of mead, was bad enough in all conscience, without making skulls serve for drinking cups.-ED.

enter the Hall of Odin." This fanatic hope derived additional force from the ignominy affixed to every kind of death but such as was of a violent nature, and from the fear of being sent after such an exit into Niflheim. This was a place consisting of nine worlds, reserved for those that died of disease or old age, Hela or Death, there exercised her despotic power; her palace was Anguish; her table Famine; her waiters were Slowness and Delay; the threshold of her door was Precipice; her bed Care; she was livid and ghastly pale; and her very looks inspired horror.

After this description of the religion of the Scandinavians, can we be surprised that they should make war their only business, and carry their valour to the utmost excesses of fanaticism. Such also will be the features which I shall most frequently have occasion to present, when I come to give a picture of their manners: there the influence of a doctrine so pernicious will be felt in its utmost extent. But justice obliges me to observe here, that the reproach arising from it does not affect the ancient inhabitants of the north more, than those of all Europe in general, unless it be that they continued to deserve it longer. However strange to a man who reasons coolly may appear the madness of making war habitually, for the sake of war itself, it must notwithstanding be allowed, that this has been for a succession of ages the favourite passion of all those nations at present so polite; and it is but, as it were, of yesterday that they began to be sensible of the value of peace, of the cultivation of arts, and of a government favourable to industry. The farther we look back towards their infancy, the more we see them occupied in war, divided among themselves, cruelly bent on the destruction of each other, by a spirit of revenge, idleness and fanaticism. There was a time when the whole face of Europe presented the same spectacle as the forests of America; viz. a thousand little wandering nations, without cities or towns, or agriculture, or arts; having nothing to subsist on but a few herds, wild fruits and pillage, harassing themselves incessantly by inroads and attacks, sometimes conquering, sometimes conquered, often totally overthrown and destroyed. The same causes everywhere produce the same effects: a savage life necessarily produces cruelty and injustice; disquiet, idleness and envy naturally lead to violence, and the desire of rapine

and mischief.

The fear of death is no restraint when life has no comfort. What evidently proves the unhappiness of those nations who live in such a state as this, is the facility with which they throw their lives away. The pleasure arising from property, from sentiment and knowledge, the fruits of industry, laws and arts, by softening life and endearing it to us, can alone give us a relish for peace and justice.

CHAPTER VI.

OF THE EXTERIOR WORSHIP AND RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

OF THE NORTHERN NATIONS.

In laying open the principal doctrines of the ancient Scandinavians, I have already had frequent occasion to remark their conformity with those of the other Teutonic nations of Europe. The same conformity is observable in the worship which they paid the Deity; and one may presume that it would appear still greater if it were easy to pursue with exactness the history of that religion through its several stages of purity and alteration. Thus, for instance, it is easy to comprehend why the ancient Scandinavians made use of temples; although, on the other hand, it would appear that the use of them was proscribed by the primitive religion, which taught that it was offensive to the gods to pretend to inclose them within the circuit of walls; and that men thereby checked and restrained their action, which is to penetrate all creatures freely in order to support them in being. There was doubtless a time, when the Scandinavians, admitting the same doctrine, worshipped their divinities only in the open air, and either knew not or approved not of the use of temples. Although we want the greatest part of the monuments which might instruct us concerning that stage of their religion, the traces of it are not yet entirely destroyed. We find at this day here and there, in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, in the middle of a plain, or upon some little hill, altars, around which they assembled to offer sacrifices and to assist at other religious ceremonies. The greatest part of these altars are raised upon a little hill, either natural or artificial. Three long pieces of rock set upright serve for a basis to a great flat stone, which forms the

table of the altar. There is commonly a pretty large cavity under this altar, which might be intended to receive the blood of the victims; and they never fail to find stones for striking fire scattered round it; for no other fire, but such as was struck forth with a flint, was pure enough for so holy a purpose. Sometimes these rural altars are constructed in a more magnificent manner; a double range of enormous stones surround the altar and the little hill on which it is erected. In Zealand we see one of this kind +; which is formed of stones of a prodigious magnitude. Men would even now be afraid to undertake such a work, notwithstanding all the assistance of the mechanical powers which in those times they wanted. What redoubles the astonishment is, that stones of that size are rarely to be seen throughout the island, and that they must have been brought from a great distance. What labour and time then must have been bestowed upon these vast rude monuments, which are unhappily more durable than those of the fine arts! But men in all ages have been persuaded that they could not pay greater honour to the Deity, than by making for him (if I may so express it) a kind of strong bulwarks; in executing prodigies of labour; in consecrating to him immense riches. The sacrifice of whatever is vicious in our passions, which he only requires of us for our own happiness, is always the last thing that is thought of to offer to him, because it is perhaps what is after all the most difficult. At Ephesus they displayed their devotion by laying out upon one single temple all the treasures of Greece and Asia. The Goths, whose bodily strength was all their riches, showed their zeal by rolling enormous rocks to the summits of hills.

In some places of Norway are found grottoes, which have also been employed for religious uses. Some of them have

Our author who, throughout his work, places too great a value on the somewhat Utopian account which Tacitus has left us of the ancient Germans, fancies that these rude monuments were the altars that served for what he is pleased to term "the primitive worship of mankind." (See Chap. IV.) Without entering into a discussion of an hypothesis which we deem to be perfectly gratuitous, we will merely observe that places where such circles of upright stones are found, were, generally speaking, Thingsteads, that is to say, the places where the Things or legislative and judicial assemblies were held, and where the kings were also elected.-ED.

† Vide Olai Wormii Monum. Danic.

been cut with incredible pains in the hardest rocks; others are formed of prodigious stones brought near and combined together with a force no less surprising *.

By degrees, as the Scandinavians formed new intercourses and connections with the other nations of Europe, whether by the expeditions they undertook, or by the foreign colonies which came to establish themselves among them, their religion, changing by degrees, tolerated insensibly temples and idols, and at length adopted them without reserve. The three principal nations of Scandinavia + vied with each other in erecting temples, but none were more famous than that of Upsal in Sweden. It glittered on all sides with gold. A chain of the same metal (or at least gilded) ran round the roof, although the circumference was not less than nine hundred ells. Hakon, earl of Norway, had built one near Drontheim, which was not inferior to that of Upsal. When Olaf Tryggvason, king of Norway, introduced the Christian faith. into that country, he caused this temple to be razed to the ground, and broke to pieces the idols it contained. They found there great riches, and particularly a ring of gold of great value. Iceland had also its temples, and the chronicles of that country speak with admiration of two especially, one situate in the north of the island, the other in the south. In each of these temples there was," says an author of that country, "a private chapel, which was regarded as a holy place there they placed the idols upon a kind of altar, around which they ranged the victims that were to be offered up. Another altar stood opposite to it, plated with iron, in order that the fire which was to burn there perpetually should not damage it. Upon this altar was placed a vase of brass, in which they received the blood of the victims. Beside it stood a brush which they made use of to sprinkle the blood upon the bystanders. There hung up likewise a great silver ring, which they stained with blood, and which whoever took an oath on any occasion was required to hold in his hand. In one of these temples, there was also near the chapel a deep pit or well, into which they cast the victims."

66

Worm. Monum. Danic. lib. i. p. 6. + Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. Vid. Arngrim. Jon. Crymogea.