Chapters 44-95 - Germanic Mythology

vague conception of the mythology of our ancestors. Even the most uncritical partisan of
Gylfaginning would certainly unhesitatingly decide in favor of Völuspá, provided we had
this poem handed down in its pure form from the heathen days. But this is clearly not the
case. We therefore need a third witness to decide between the two. Such an one is also
actually to be found.
In the Norse heathen records the word múspell occurs only twice, viz., in the
above-mentioned Völuspá strophe and in Lokasenna 42, where Frey, who has
surrendered his sword of victory, is threatened by Loki with the prospect of defeat and
death - er Múspells synir ríða Myrkvið yfir, "when Muspell's sons ride over Mirkwood."
The Mirkwood is mentioned in Völundarkviða 1 as a forest, through which the swanmaids
coming from the South flew into the wintry Wolfdales, where one chases bears on
skis 2 to get food. This is evidently not a forest situated near the primeval fountains of heat
and fire. The very arbitrary manner in which the names of the mythical geography is used
in the heroic poems, where Mirkwood comes to the surface, 3 does not indicate that this
forest was conceived as situated south of Midgard, and there is, as shall be shown below,
reason for assuming that Mirkwood is another name for the Ironwood famous in
mythology; the wood which, according to Völuspá, is situated in the East, and in which
Angurboda fosters the children of Loki and Fenrir.
One of these, and one of the worst, is the monster Hati, the enemy of the moon
mentioned in Völuspá as tungls tjúgari, 4 that makes excursions from the Ironwood and
"stains the citadels of rulers with blood." In the Ragnarok conflict Hati takes part and
contends with Tyr (Gylfaginning), and, doubtless, not only he, but also the whole
offspring of the Fenris-wolf fostered in the Ironwood, are on the battlefield in that
division which is commanded by Loki their clan-chief. This is also, doubtless, the
meaning of the following words in the Völuspá strophe quoted above: "Fifl's descendants
all come with Freki (the wolf), and in company with them is Byleipt's (or Byleist's)
brother." As Loki, Byleipt, and Helblindi are mentioned as brothers (Gylfaginning 33), no
one else can be meant with "Byleipt's brother" than Loki himself or Helblindi, and more
probably the latter, since it has already been stated, that Loki is there as the commander
of the forces. Thus it is Muspell's sons and Loki's kinsmen in the Ironwood who are
gathered around him when the great conflict is at hand. Muspell's sons accompany the
liberated Loki from his rocky isle, and are with him on board Naglfar. Loki's first
destination is the Ironwood, whither he goes to fetch Angurboda's children, and thence
the journey proceeds "over Mirkwood" to the plain of Vigrid. The statements of Völuspá
and Lokasenna illustrate and corroborate each other, and it follows that Völuspá's
statement, claiming that Muspell's sons come from the East, is original and correct.
Gylfaginning treats Muspell as a place, a realm, the original home of fire and heat
(Gylfaginning 4). Still, there is a lack of positiveness, for the land in question is in the
same work called Múspellsheimur (ch. 5) and Múspells heimur (ch. 8), whence we may
presume that the author regarded Múspell as meaning both the land of the fire and the fire
2 Here and elsewhere, Anderson confuses the Swedish word skidor, skis, with snow-shoes. The image here
is of elven beings gliding effortlessly over snowcovered dales. Compare Orvandill's shoes which run on
land as well as on water, and Ull's skate which becomes a shield.
3 Myrkviðr also occurs in Atlakviða 3.
4 "the moon's pitchfork", i.e. the devourer of the Moon.