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Chapter 3. Midgard 85
The concept of ¸orlög was understood by those who did not embrace any religion.
They may not have believed in the World Tree, Yggdrasil, but they understood its
function; they may not have accepted the idea of the flowing of the Waters of Life,
but they understood the workings of power;
“Among these unbelievers was the Danish Hrolf Kráki, ‘most famous of all
kings of ancient days’. Neither Hrolf nor his chosen champions ever sacrificed
to the gods, but believed only in their own might and main (ON = a matt
sinn ok megin). Hrolf once exclaimed that it was not the wicked Óðínn who
governed men’s lives, but rather fate (auðna).” 36
In spite of the fact that atheists, or near atheists, existed, everyone (for the most
part, because there are always exceptions) subscribed to the same set of spiritual
principles. Turville-Petre in his discussion about the possible origins of the Hávamál
and the common knowledge that this poem was composed by several skalds (Germanic
poets) even suggests that part of it may have been written by one or several
of these “godless men.”
“Although the title Hávamál (Sayings of the High One) is given to the
whole collection only two of the first seventy-nine strophes contain allusion to
Óðínn. The rest tell hardly anything about religion or belief in gods. They
read rather like the words of one who has travelled far and seen much (st..
18), and had come to despise tradition and all the comfort which traditional
religion might bring with it. Yet the title Hávamál is not altogether inappropriate,
even to this part of the collection. As I have attempted to explain,
the cult of Óðínn, in some of its aspects, represents a breach with tradition
and a rejection of traditional morality and social organization. In this way
the cult of Óðínn draws near to atheism.” 37
The author is addressing the fact that many men left their homelands and communities
during the Viking Age to sail the open seas. These men did not remain in
any single place long enough to embrace any of the religious/ cultural aspects of the
locale but still felt the need to adhere to a spiritual philosophy which would enable
them to access power/ luck during their short stay on Midgard. This sophisticated
philosophy was collected at some point during the Viking Age or within a few centuries
thereafter and has come down through the centuries known as the Hávamál.
As discussed in Chapter 1, the poem is a collection of pieces of wisdom which when
applied in life will allow an individual to grow in luck and power. Like the Chinese
philosophy of Taoism (as opposed to the religion of Taoism), it encourages a person
36 Turville-Petre, p. 264.
37 ibid., p. 267.