Myth and Religion; - Germanic Mythology

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mythical personality is believed to have belonged, not indeed during the time that there was any community of life, between the forefathers of the Greeks and their kindred who retained their Asiatic homes. It was only after the separation took place between the forefathers of the Greeks and their congeners in the uplands of Asia that a mythological signification began to attach to this word. 8 It is remarkable, however, seeing the prominent position that Heaven and Earth hold in the many mythologies to which, indeed, attention has been called, that this relation should not hold amongst the Aryans of the Vedas. Certainly in the hymns of the Rig-Veda this is the case, but not so absolutely it would seem, as Mr. Rydberg appears to assert. 9 Mr. Rydberg draws attention to the very varied forms and characters, in which mythical personages or deities from the Rig-Veda appear, such as Agni, as another example of the misuse of the linguistic method. But the shifting forms and hues, like the shifting rays of the Aurora Borealis, which the mythical personages of the Rig-Veda assume, deserve a special mode of treatment, which we hope to give them. Herr von Bradke in the work referred to, in the conclusion of the last note, notices that antecedent to the period of the Rig-Veda in Indian Literature, a time of doubt or scepticism had intervened as to the rule of the gods, and that the nickering forms of the divine persons, whom we find invoked in the Rig-Veda, form in some sort, a special religious development, which cannot well be exemplified elsewhere. Passing on to deal with the psychological or real method, as dealt with by Mr. Rydberg in his Methodology, we find that he regards it much more favourably than the linguistic or nominal. This method lays less stress upon names and designations, and more upon similar characteristics. A favourable example is given in the case of Agni and Heimdall. Both are born of several mothers; both have yellow or golden teeth; it belongs to each of them to belong to the watches of heaven; both are sent over the ocean to bring religion and culture to men; both are patrons of the division of men into different orders or grades of society; both have fought with a demon for the possession of a wonderful ornament and have obtained it. From the similarity of the characteristics thus noted, they would seem to lead to the inference, that both personages are therefore mythically the same, a conclusion which seems confirmed by the further similarity that Heimdall is sent by the patriarchs to Bhrigu and Manu; while in the other case, the Skandinavian Heimdall is sent to Berich and Mannus. But while Mr. Rydberg holds fast by the validity of the psychological method, when applied by a sound understanding, he points out at the same time, that the myths to be compared may be of such a general character that their 8 Rydberg's Undersokningar i Germanisk Mythologi. Andra Delen s. 442. 9 Mr Lang in his Myth Ritual and Religion Vol. I. page 253 writes as follows on this subject, In India Dyaus (heaven) answers to the Greek Uranus and the Maori Rangi, while Prithivi (earth) is the Greek Gaea, the Maori Papa. In the Veda, heaven and earth are constantly styled 'parents' butt his we might regard as a mere metaphorical expression still common in poetry. A passage of the Aitareya Brahmana, however, retains the old conception, in which there was nothing metaphorical at all. These two worlds heaven and earth were once joined. Subsequently they were separated (according to one account by Indra, who thus plays the part of Cronus and Tane Mahuta)". “Heaven and earth,” says Dr Muir, “are regarded as the parents not only of men, but of the gods also, as appears from the various texts where they are designated by the epithet, Devapatre, having gods for their children. There have been attempts to account for the scanty mention of heaven and earth in this relation in the Indian Mythology. In M. P. von Bradke's work, 'Dyaus Asura, Ahura Mazda und die Asuras', Halle 1885, there is an endeavour to account for the comparative disappearance of Dyaus Pitar and Prithivi in their mutual relation, from the Indian Pantheon, as may be seen summed up in pp. 114 & ff. of the above work.
comparison proves nothing, and then passes on to note another incorrect application of the psychological method, which he indicates by the equation S(a + b + c + d) — P (a + b) + P (c + d) as compared with an equation previously given, which he considers to be legitimate P(a + b + c + d & c) = S(a + b + c + d & c). Next applying the illegitimate form, obviously to Professor Bugge's treatment of the Baldr myth, in finding traces in it, not only drawn from Achilles as in the form drawn from Saxo; but also traces from the character of Christ, as in the Icelandic form of the myth, which Mr. Rydberg holds to be improbable and out of keeping with the proper scientific treatment of the myth. 10 But what if there be such curious additions to mythical characters in point of fact? E. H. Meyer in his treatise on the Voluspa, has pointed out a similar strange mixture, in the character of the god Heimdall as he is referred to in the Hyndlulod and the Völuspa hinn skamma. 11 The principle of the identification of myths which have been broken up into smaller fragments in time and place, adopted by Mr. Rydberg from Wundt 12 is quite in accordance with rules laid down by Professor Mogk and others. There can be no doubt but that the convergence principle which Mr. Rydberg discusses and gives us an example of the use of, may be followed with advantage in the process of identifying myths, or fragments of myths with one another. Mr. Rydberg concludes his chapter on the methodology of myths by some observations on the preservation and permanence of myths. He accounts for this permanence by supposing that there may have been priests whose office it was to preserve and transmit in unaltered form the stock of myths or sagas which belonged to the tribe or clan. Such a priesthood, he finds in the Skalds or minstrels who made use of the common stock of traditions and legends, sang them themselves and handed them over to their successors and descendants. This process he believes to have been facilitated by the similarity of linguistic forms in the Indo-European speech. There can be no doubt that there is much truth in this picture of the preservation and transmission of the mythical, legendary and saga forms, which formed the common stock, — the intellectual and poetical wealth of the various peoples into which the Indo-Germanic race were divided. But there is so much that is plausible and even probable, that we must not forget, that there were influences at work which led to the transformation of the mythical sagas, and poetic mythical songs, as well as to their preservation. Mr. Rydberg himself touches upon these in the course of his enquiry. The myths he deals with in the course of his enquiry come to us as he observes in an epical form. But this in itself implies, in no small degree, a transformation in the character of these myths themselves. Not only from the Teutonic myths, but equally so in the Indian myths from the Rig-Veda and in the mythology of Greece, there is a savage, obscene and brutal residuum, which those who have dealt with the subject, — and the literature of the question is already extensive, and is growing every day, — have agreed to regard as the lower or otherwise the earlier myths. Those concerning Heaven and Earth as persons, the earliest progenitors of both men and gods, on which we have already touched, are of this character. These are the myths, and they would seem from the religions or cults with which they were associated to have been more common, or perhaps what is the same 10 Rydberg's Undersokningar. Andra Delen ss. 444—445. 11 * E. H. Meyer's Voluspa. Berlin 1889, ss. 15 ff. 12 Rydberg's Undersokningar. II. Delen s. 432.
Page 1 and 2: The following reference displays a
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Page 15: And sinew to sinew. Heal (— bot)

Myth and Religion; - Germanic Mythology

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