Ögmundar þáttr dytts
Encyclopedia
Ögmundar þáttr dytts ok Gunnars helmings is one of the Icelandic þættir. It was written in the 14th century. It relates the story of Ögmundr dyttr, a cousin of Víga-Glúmr from Víga-Glúms saga
. He is insulted in Norway
and achieves revenge in a clever way. The second part of the saga relates the adventures of Gunnarr helmingr and his interaction with a cult of Freyr
in Sweden
.
Gunnar was suspected of manslaughter and escaped to Sweden, where people still blót
ed to Freyr
. The Swedes had appointed a young and beautiful woman to serve the fertility god, and Gunnar became acquainted with this young priestess. He helped her drive Freyr's wagon with the god effigy in it, but the god did not appreciate Gunnar and so attacked him and would have killed Gunnar if he had not promised himself to return to the Christian faith if he would make it back to Norway. When Gunnar had promised this, a demon jumped out off the god effigy and so Freyr was nothing but a piece of wood. Gunnar destroyed the wooden idol and dressed himself as Freyr, and then Gunnar and the priestess travelled across Sweden where people were happy to see the god visiting them. After a while he made the priestess pregnant, but this was seen by the Swedes as confirmation that Freyr was truly a fertility god and not a scam. Finally, Gunnar had to flee back to Norway with his young bride and had her baptized at the court of Olaf Tryggvason.
Víga-Glúms saga
Víga-Glúms saga is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It tells of a chieftain who kills several people and tries to cover his guilt. It is believed to have been written in the 13th century.-External links:****...
. He is insulted in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and achieves revenge in a clever way. The second part of the saga relates the adventures of Gunnarr helmingr and his interaction with a cult of Freyr
Freyr
Freyr is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was highly associated with farming, weather and, as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals"...
in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Gunnar was suspected of manslaughter and escaped to Sweden, where people still 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...
ed to Freyr
Freyr
Freyr is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was highly associated with farming, weather and, as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals"...
. The Swedes had appointed a young and beautiful woman to serve the fertility god, and Gunnar became acquainted with this young priestess. He helped her drive Freyr's wagon with the god effigy in it, but the god did not appreciate Gunnar and so attacked him and would have killed Gunnar if he had not promised himself to return to the Christian faith if he would make it back to Norway. When Gunnar had promised this, a demon jumped out off the god effigy and so Freyr was nothing but a piece of wood. Gunnar destroyed the wooden idol and dressed himself as Freyr, and then Gunnar and the priestess travelled across Sweden where people were happy to see the god visiting them. After a while he made the priestess pregnant, but this was seen by the Swedes as confirmation that Freyr was truly a fertility god and not a scam. Finally, Gunnar had to flee back to Norway with his young bride and had her baptized at the court of Olaf Tryggvason.
External links
- Text of the saga with Modern Icelandic spelling
- Anderson, Carl Edlund. (1999). Formation and Resolution of Ideological Contrast in the Early History of Scandinavia. Ph.D. thesis, University of Cambridge, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic (Faculty of English). p. 64.
- Heinrichs, Anne: The Search for Identity: A Problem after the Conversion, in alvíssmál 3. pp.52-55.