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Chapter 2. Connections 44
philosophy. These cultures, in general, place a great amount of importance on family
lineages, clan-structure, marriages (often arranged), and oral history of places
and people affected by significant deeds. Often modern people when reading about
these cultures misinterpret these philosophies as being form of “ancestor worship”
and the long recitations of family lineages which are usually part of these cultures
as being ritualized formality. What is often overlooked is that these people, by their
actions, are engaging themselves in the flow of power; to do so is to directly access
the Flow of the Waters of Life in the Germanic sense of “luck.” These cultures all
strive to maintain or improve their luck in all areas of life.
Everything has a lineage, but some lineages are simply more significant than
others. To interact with a powerful lineage is a way to engage power either for
evil ( unhælo) or good. The gold-hoard of Andvari the Dwarf in Wagner’s famous
Niebelungenlied ( Saga of the Rheingold) was cursed upon its being stolen. That
evil lineage was then melded with the lineage of an unsuspecting family when the
gold was used by Óðinn, Loki, and Hnir as atonement (wergild) for death of Ottar,
a son to Hreiðmar. Often, modern interpreters will attempt to show that the family
somehow “deserved” the curse of Andvari’s gold, but “deserving” really had nothing
to do with it. The family interacted with a powerful, evil lineage, volunteering to
be blinded to the gold’s history because the satiation of their greed was foremost in
their minds, and as a result, the family’s lineage became inextricably part of that
cursed, evil line. On the other hand, Beowulf entwined his noble lineage with that
of another, the lineage of the “giantish sword” with which he used to do battle with
Grendel’s mother, and as a result, his already great power became even greater so
that he was able to kill the monster which was indestructible by mere human hands.
(Notice here how the “giantish sword” provides the power, but a man supplies the
action.) Bauschatz relates that
“the extensive description of the sword may seem strange to modern
readers, because very little of it beyond the phrase ecgum þyhtig, ‘mighty
with blades,’ seems to be of any direct relevance to Beowulf’s problems. All
this historical, descriptive material is, however, in the Germanic context, extremely
relevant. Hrunting, the sword he has tried to use against Grendel’s
mother and that has failed to bite, is the very best of human swords, but
it is not sufficient to the greatness of this task. Beowulf is dealing with the
greater-than-human, and he needs a corresponding weapon; hence, we are
explicitly told of this sword’s origin and history. This greatest of swords will
provide the greatest action in the hands, naturally, of the greatest of men.
As a result, the glory of the deed is shared by Beowulf and the sword.” 34
34 Bauschatz, p. 100.