The three stories of Beowulf, Siegfried, and Jormungander reflect Norse and Anglo-Saxon values and traditions. Although they may seem alien to us today, these values are one of the sources of our laws today. Life in Northern Europe was hard, with no margin for error. People depended on kinship and tribal cohesion for survival. Because of that, everyone had to maintain good relations with people they did not care for.
One major theme of these stories is integrity and greed. The Norse understood the complexity of integrity. They divided it into several thews (virtues) – frith (peace weaving), troth (oath keeping), truth, honor, and fidelity. The different thews emphasized the importance of each aspect in human relationships. Greed breaks the chain of integrity and destroys kinship and cohesion.
Another theme running through these stories is the Norse concept of orlog and weaving your wyrd. Our present flows from our past. Our future arrives out of our lives today. What affects our present are our choices in the past. What determines our future is our understanding of our past, and the choices we make now. We cannot find fault in our current circumstances since our past choices lead there.
Within each of these stories is a secondary theme of hospitality. The Norse split the concept of hospitality into “guestliness”, which is receiving the stranger, and “right good will”, which is accepting hospitality without any hidden agendas. Because the Northlands are a harsh environment, both concepts are important. Guests should not overburden the host, whereas the host should not turn the guest away. When Thor visited the Giants, he irritated them with his boasts. In return, they rigged their contests with Him.
“Beowulf and the Firedrake”
When Beowulf was old, he had to fight a dragon that was rampaging through his kingdom. One of Beowulf’s subjects had stolen some of the dragon’s treasure (thereby, breaking the frith between the dragon and the people). Beowulf had asked his warriors accompany him to fight the dragon. But when he was wounded and could not kill the dragon, they deserted him. Only, Wiglaf, who was a house thane, stayed with Beowulf. Together they killed the dragon. As Beowulf was dying, he rewarded the faithfulness of Wiglaf, his thane, with his kingdom.
“Siegfried and Fafnir”
This chapter in a larger saga concludes with the transfer of a curse to Siegfried. The Norse Gods accidently killed Fafnir and Regin’s brother, Otter. To pay the wergild (blood price) for killing Otter, the Gods stole gold from Andvari, the Dwarf, who then cursed the purloined gold. Before he became a dragon, Fafnir killed his father to possess this gold. Then as a dragon, he hoarded it. Meanwhile, his brother plotted to kill him to get the treasure.
Desiring fame and glory, Siegfried also exhibited a form of greed. He plunged head long in pursing Fafnir the Dragon with Regin. In his eagerness for glory, Siegfried nearly lost his life, and in the process inherited the curse of the gold. Siegfried wove his wyrd with that of Regin and Fafnir, and receiving a different fate than if he was contented. He destroyed his future through his choices in the present.
“Jormungander, the Midgard Wurm”
These stories demonstrate how Thor and Jormungander’s fates were woven together. The Midgard Wurm was an offspring of Loki, the Trickster God. She lived at the bottom of the Tree of Life, eating the roots were fed by the Well of the Wyrd. This was far from the places where the people and Gods lived. However, in biting her tail, Jormungander formed a circle that encompassed all of them.
Meanwhile, Thor, the God of Thunder, often righted the wrongs of the Norse Gods. In addition, He defended ordinary people from the Giants. Widely worshipped, Thor was seen as a protector as well as a bringer of fertility.
Thor and Jormungander are equally matched. Their battles represent the forces of order warring against those of chaos. Neither could overwhelm the other. At Ragnarok, the World’s End, both Thor and Jormundander (order and chaos) perish to bring forth a new world.
Works Cited:
Colum, Padraic, “Nordic Gods and Heroes”, Dover, NY, 1996.
Lindow, John, “Norse Mythology”, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001.
Woodening Swain (Berry Canote), “Hammer of the Gods”, Angleseaxisce Ealdriht, Texas, 2003.
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Copyright: Virginia Carper, animalteachers @ gmail . com
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