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Chapter 5. The Underworld 112
Underworld which they now called Hell after the northern Goddess of the Land of
the Dead, Hel or Hela (ONHel). The list included not only Satan, Beelzebub, et al.
but also heathen gods, demi-gods, and non-organic beings from all other cultures
as well. Óðínn, Þór, and Saxnot were all dumped into the Underworld part of
which was called Helheim or the Home of Hel. Really, within the Christian logic
of the time, this was not a bad line of reasoning. Heathens, unless baptized and
accepting of Jesus as their Savior, were doomed to the demon-filled Halls of Hel,
which was “downwards,” and the good, properly baptized Christians were “decked
out” for Paradise which was by the same line of reasoning “upwards.” After the
conversion of heathens to Christianity, the concept of “down” was considered bad,
and “up” was associated with good.
The northern concept of the Underworld was not always viewed negatively. The
story of Frau Holle which is a common childhood story presents a view of an Underworld
with two distinct sides to it. Granted, this is one of those “moral” stories
mentioned above about why it is such a good idea to do chores without complaining,
but the visual images are quite interesting. First, it is a pleasantly lit land in contrast
to the dreary picture one gets from the eddaic or sagaic writings. It does not lack
for food, light or comfort. There are fully leaved trees, blooming flowers, and water
aplenty. Similarly, but in a completely different tale describing a chieftain’s funeral
among the Rus 1 , Ibn Fadlan records a slave girl’s visions after peering into the Otherworld:
“I see my master seated in Paradise, and Paradise is green and fair. . . .” 2
In fact, the Otherworld appears to be a mirror image of Midgard. Secondly, what
occurs in the Underworld of Frau Holle has a direct impact on Midgard; both sisters
are told to fluff the pillows until the feathers fly so that snow might cover the Earth.
Thirdly, how the children behaved in the Underworld resulted in either fortune or
failure upon their return to their Middle-earth home.
Actually, this concept of an Underworld having both dark and light sides seems to
survive in a collective/ cultural memory of people with a Germanic/ Celtic ancestry.
Baum’s The Wizard of Oz is a modern tale which, although written mainly for
children, has delighted both children and adults since it was written in the late
1800’s. Oz exists “somewhere over the rainbow” which is highly reminiscent of the
1 The Rus were an Eastern branch of Scandinavians living in what is now called Finland and
Western Russia. It is their name (which is related to the word for ”red”) which gave Russia its
name.
2 Turville-Petre, Myth and Religion of the North, p. 273. Actually, Michael Crichton wrote a
fictional account of this story called The Eaters of the Dead which is quite pleasant to read. His
version is based on translations of several existing manuscripts of the Ibn Fadlan account which
Crichton is very careful to mention in his Afterword.