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EAETHQUAKES. WALAHALLA. 817
Tahitians: God shakes the earth; 1 the Lettons: Drebkuls beats
the earth, and makes her tremble/ just
as the Greeks call their
Poseidon (Neptune) Ewoaiyaios, EvvocriSas (see Suppl.).
Our forefathers thought of the sky not only as a roof to the
earth (p. 698), but as a heavenly kingdom, the dwelling-place of
gods and of blessed men whom they had taken up. The bridge
of the heavenly bow leads into it
(p. 732), so does the milky way
(p. 356).
We must first suppose all that to have happened which was
told in chap. XIX about the creation of the world according to
ON. views. After the gods had set in order heaven and earth,
created Ask and Embla, and appointed MrSgarS to be the
habitation of man, they fitted up for themselves in the centre
of the world a dwelling-place named Asgar&r, in whose vast ex
tent however a number of particular spots are specified.
None of these separate mansions is more celebrated than the
Odinic Valholl (OHG. Walahalla?), whose name has an obvious
reference to the god s own appellation
of Valfdftr and to the
valkyrs (p. 41 7). 2 Into this abode, sometimes known as Offins
salir (Saem. 148 b
), the war-maidens have conducted to him all
the heroes that from the beginning of the world have fallen in
valr, on the battle-field (the vapn-bitnir, weapon-bitten, Yngl.
saga c. 10) ; these he adopts as children, they are oslcasynir, sons
by wishing, ad-option, 3 and likewise sons of the god Wish (p.
143).
Their usual name is einherjar, egregii, divi, as O^inn him
self is called Her j an and Herjafo&r, and heri means the fighting
hero (p. 342-3). It must not be overlooked, that Thorr himself
is called an einheri, Ssem. 68 a
, as if a partaker of Valholl. From
the existence of a proper name Einheri in OHG. (e.g. Meichelbeck
no. 241. 476. Schannat 137), I argue the former prevalence of
the mythical term amongst us also ; yet not with certainty, as it
may be a contracted form of Eginheri, Aganheri, like Einhart for
Eginhart, Reinhart for Reginhart. Valholl is covered with shields
1 Zimmerm. Taschenb. f. reisen, jahrg. 9 abth. 2. Adelung s Mithrid. 1, 634.
2 Prob. also to Valaskidlf, the hall covered with silver, Saem. 41 a . Sn. 21 ; cpnf.
Hliffskidlf, p. 135. Skidlf expresses the quivering motion of the airy mansion,
like bif in Bifrost. Our OHG-. walaeht des ewigen libes, Is. 73, 4 seems not
merely possessio vitae aeternoe, but an emphatic term purposely chosen.
3 Got setzet si in sine schoz, in his bosom, Ls. 3, 92.