Völsa þáttr
Encyclopedia
Vǫlsa þáttr is a short story which is only extant in the Flatey Book, where it is found in a chapter of Óláfs saga helga
. It is probably from the fourteenth century but takes place in 1029 when Scandinavia
was still largely pagan, and it appears to preserve traditions of a pagan phallos cult, the vǫlsi (see also blót
).
.
When the thrall had butchered a horse and was to throw away the penis, the boy ran past, took it and went to the place where his mother, sister and the slave woman were sitting. There he joked at the slave woman telling her that the organ would not be dull between her legs, whereupon the slave woman laughed. The daughter asked her brother to throw away the disgusting object, but her old mother rose and said that it was a useful thing that should not be thrown away. She wrapped in a cloth of linen together with onions and herbs to conserve it and put it in her coffer.
Every evening in the autumn she took it out of the coffer and prayed to it as to her god and had the rest of the household take part. She recited a verse over it, handed to her husband who did the same and so on until every one had taken part.
was fleeing king Canute the Great
, he came by their promontory. He had heard of their worship and wanted to convert them to the Christian faith. He went to their abode and only brought with him Finnr Árnason and Þormóðr Kolbrúnarskáld and they were all wearing grey cloaks to hide their identity.
They entered the house and when it was dark, they met the daughter who asked them about their identity. They all answered that their names was Grímr (hooded). The girl was not fooled and said that she saw that he was king Olaf. He then asked her to keep quiet about it.
They then met the rest of the household and they were invited for dinner. The old woman came last and carried the vǫlsi, the penis. She put the vǫlsi in her husband's lap and read a poem saying "may the giantess (Mǫrnir) accept this holy object". The husband accepted it and read a poem including the same phrase, and this continued until everybody in the company, but the king, had recited a poem with this phrase.
When it was the king's turn he revealed himself and preached about Christianity, but the old woman was very sceptical whereas her husband was very interested. Finally, they all accepted to be baptised by the king's chaplain and they stayed Christian ever since.
Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
. It is probably from the fourteenth century but takes place in 1029 when Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
was still largely pagan, and it appears to preserve traditions of a pagan phallos cult, the vǫlsi (see also blót
Blót
The blót was Norse pagan sacrifice to the Norse gods and the spirits of the land. The sacrifice often took the form of a sacramental meal or feast. Related religious practices were performed by other Germanic peoples, such as the pagan Anglo-Saxons...
).
The worship
It relates that an old man and an old woman lived with their brisk son and intelligent daughter on a promontory far from other people. They also had a male and a female thrallThrall
Thrall was the term for a serf or unfree servant in Scandinavian culture during the Viking Age.Thralls were the lowest in the social order and usually provided unskilled labor during the Viking era.-Etymology:...
.
When the thrall had butchered a horse and was to throw away the penis, the boy ran past, took it and went to the place where his mother, sister and the slave woman were sitting. There he joked at the slave woman telling her that the organ would not be dull between her legs, whereupon the slave woman laughed. The daughter asked her brother to throw away the disgusting object, but her old mother rose and said that it was a useful thing that should not be thrown away. She wrapped in a cloth of linen together with onions and herbs to conserve it and put it in her coffer.
Every evening in the autumn she took it out of the coffer and prayed to it as to her god and had the rest of the household take part. She recited a verse over it, handed to her husband who did the same and so on until every one had taken part.
Enter king Olaf
One day when king Olaf II of NorwayOlaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...
was fleeing king Canute the Great
Canute the Great
Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
, he came by their promontory. He had heard of their worship and wanted to convert them to the Christian faith. He went to their abode and only brought with him Finnr Árnason and Þormóðr Kolbrúnarskáld and they were all wearing grey cloaks to hide their identity.
They entered the house and when it was dark, they met the daughter who asked them about their identity. They all answered that their names was Grímr (hooded). The girl was not fooled and said that she saw that he was king Olaf. He then asked her to keep quiet about it.
They then met the rest of the household and they were invited for dinner. The old woman came last and carried the vǫlsi, the penis. She put the vǫlsi in her husband's lap and read a poem saying "may the giantess (Mǫrnir) accept this holy object". The husband accepted it and read a poem including the same phrase, and this continued until everybody in the company, but the king, had recited a poem with this phrase.
When it was the king's turn he revealed himself and preached about Christianity, but the old woman was very sceptical whereas her husband was very interested. Finally, they all accepted to be baptised by the king's chaplain and they stayed Christian ever since.
External links
- Völsa þáttr from «Kulturformidlingen norrøne tekster og kvad» Norway.
- Site with the original text and an English translation back to back
- German translation of the þáttr
- Völsa þáttr