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840
DEATH.
neither comes to fetch the souls fallen due to her, 1 nor sends
messengers
after them. The dead are left alone to commence
the long and gloomy journey ; shoes, ship and ferry-money, ser
vants, horses, clothes, they take with them from home for the
hell-way. Some ride, others sail, whole companies of souls troop
together
: no conductor comes to meet them.
There were other gods besides, who took possession of souls.
The sea-goddess Ran draws to herself with a net all the bodies
drowned within her province (p. 311). Water-sprites in general
seem fond of detaining souls : dame Holle herself, at whose
has a
dwelling arrive those who fall into the well (pp. 268. 822),
certain resemblance to Hel (see Suppl.).
It is another matter with the souls destined for Valholl. OSinn
sends out the valkyrs to take up all heroes that have fallen in
fight, and conduct them to his heaven (p. 418)
fetch his wish-sons, }>aer kiosa feig S a menn/
: wish-maidens
Sn. 39. Their
attendance and the heroes reception are splendidly set forth in
the Hakonarmal. But these messengers also take charge of heroes
while alive, and protect them until death : they are guardian-
angels and death-angels. How beautiful, that the gracious god,
before he summons them, has provided his elect with an attendant
spirit to glorify their earthly path !
I can see a connexion between valkyrs and Hermes, who is
wielder of the wishing-rod (p. 419) and conductor of souls to
the underworld, tyvxaycoyos, ^U^OTTO/ATTO?, ve/cpoirofjiTros. These
maids are OSin s messengers, as Herines is herald of the gods,
nay Hermes is O&inn himself, to whom the souls belong. Thus
the god s relation to the dead is an additional proof of the iden
tity between Wuotan and Mercury. A distinction appears in the
fact that Hermes, like the Etruscan Gharun (0. Miiller 2, 100),
conducts to Hades, but not, as far as I know, to Elysium
; valkyrs,
on the contrary, to Yalholl, and not to Hel. Further, the function
of guardian-spirit is wanting to Hermes.
This idea of a protecting spirit finds expression more in the
personified Thanatos (death) of the Greek people s faith. He is
pictured as a genius, with hand on cheek in deep thought, or
1
It is only in a dream-vision that she : appears postera nocte eidem Proser
pina per quietem adstare aspect* postridie ejus complexu usuram denuuciat. nee
iuane somnii praesagium fuit. Saxo Gram. p. 43.