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Saga-Book oj the Viking Society
his well and thrust his head above its waters to reply to
those who questioned him.P
Such simplifications seem unsatisfying when set beside
the actual Eddaic texts. If Mims hg/uti merely means
'fountain-head of Mimir's Well', it is hard to see how
6l'5inn could be said to speak with it, or how it could
itself speak, as in Sigrdrijumdl 13; the only plausible
explanation would be to connect it with a system of
taking oracles from the sound of running water, but there
is no evidence to suggest that such a practice was used by
the heathen Norsemen. In any case one would have to
admit that confusions and misunderstandings had already
sprung up round this expression by the time the passage
in Sigrdrijumdl was composed, since one can scarcely
account for 'Heioraupnirs skull' and 'Hoddrofnir's
horn' as natural extensions of this metaphor. It would
be preferable to find an explanation that reconciles the
discrepancies and at the same time does not entail
departing from the literal meanings of the texts.
In various recent articles 12 Dr Anne Ross has presented
a body of evidence from archaeological finds, from ancient
and medieval Irish literature, from legends of Welsh and
Cornish saints, from Welsh folk-practices, and from stories
recently collected in Scotland, to show that in Celtic
areas there is a frequent association between holy wells
and severed heads. It has already often been noted that
the best analogues to Mimir's speaking head are Celtic:
the head of Bran in the M abinogion, and the heads of
several Irish heroes.P In general it can be said that
among the Celts severed human heads were revered as
11 A. Olrik, Nogle Grundscetninger for Sagnforskning (1921), 9I.
12 A. Ross, 'The Human Head in Insular Pagan Celtic Religion', Proceedings
of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland XCI (1960), IO-43; 'Severed Heads in
Wells: an Aspect of the Well Cult', Scottish Studies VI i (1962), 31-48; 'Note
on Votive Pottery Associated with Wells', Scottish Studies VI ii (1962), 228-34;
'Gently Dip But Not Too Deep', The Listener, Aug. 30, 1962.
13 For various aspects of Celtic head beliefs see, besides the articles of
Dr Ross cited above, T. F. O'Rahilly, Early Irish History and Mythology (1946),
282-3; N. K. Chadwick, 'Imbas Forosnai', Scottish Gaelic Studies IV (1960),
II9 fl.