Problems of Fatalism: A Blueprint for Further Research

Abstract

VERY much has been written throughout the years on the intriguing problems of fatalism.' Scholars have written on fate in Ancient Greece,2 Egypt,3 Sikkim,4 Chinaq Ruanda-Urundi,6 and in Old Indic literature.7 To all this must be added studies on Arabian8 and Persian fatalism.' The aim of the present paper, after briefly outlining certain historical developments in the European concept of fate, is to offer a critique of the theoretical typologies proposed by various scholars in discussing fatalism; secondly to propose a new typological model; and finally to illustrate it by application to some typical Norwegian material. Within the old Norse culture area, belief in the power of fate was strong. This is shown in the Icelandic family sagas, where dreams were the vehicle of coming events. However, one often needed a certain knowledge of dreams and their symbols to interpret correctly their meaning and importance. Further, dreams as depicted in the Icelandic family sagas must be evaluated on the basis of the epic construction.' One of the most famous dream symbols is the so-called clan tree, testifying to the destiny of the family involved. In dealing with such motifs, one should always bear in mind the intricate relationship between literature and oral tradition. We should in this connection mention the Old Norse custom of sitting on a howe, so often associated with kings. It has been suggested that this custom was tied to a death cult and that it was certainly known in Sweden in the Migration Period.'2 The Rumanian historian of religion Mircea Eliade points to a parallel in Ireland. The fili (poet) ate raw bull's flesh, drank the blood, and then slept, wrapped in the hide. During his sleep 'invisible friends' gave him an answer to the question that was troubling him. Or again, a man slept on the grave of a relative or an ancestor and became a prophet. Typologically, these customs come close to the initiation or inspiration of future shamans and magicians who spend the night beside corpses or in graveyards. The underlying idea is that the dead know the future, fate in general.3 In Europe there have been legends, folktales and other traditional materials dealing with three supranormal women, whom Professor Brednich calls Schicksalsfrauen. They have different names within the various culture areas, e.g. parcae (Latin) or Moira (Greek). The gipsies call them Ursitori. They are related typologically and functionally to the well-known three weird sisters in Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth.'4 In Norse mythology we meet three norns, sitting under the world tree Yggdrasil, spinning the life thread of human beings.' This is a supranormal triad, but several other divinities, mostly all-knowing divinities, may be connected with fate. Frequently this omniscience of the divinities has been concretely symbolized: they are polycephalic. All-knowing gods are known from Babylonia, the archaic Slav civilizations, Norse culture (Othin), and Celtic culture, etc.'6 Ballads may deal with fate;' as too do some folktales, e.g. the types about the predestined wife or husband.18 Religious legends also describe the relationship between man and fate.19 Even religious prayers, as for instance the continental 'Traum Mariens,'