Some Scandinavian Sacrifices

Abstract

ONE of the most fascinating aspects of folklore is the possibility that pre-Christian beliefs and rituals may occasionally survive, their meaning forgotten, in curious traditional customs of more recent centuries. But this line of inquiry is beset with pitfalls, since in all but a few cases we unfortunately have only the most meagre scraps of information about the many varieties of heathen religion in pre-Christian Europe. The student of English folklore feels particularly hampered by the gaps in our knowledge of AngloSaxon heathenism, and is soon forced to turn to the far fuller records of Scandinavia in search of illuminating parallels. It would, of course, be very foolish to assume that every religious belief recorded in the North must also have been known in England; however, the two cultures have enough in common to justify a cautious use of this approach. One reason why Scandinavian heathenism is comparatively well documented is that conversion to Christianity took place there much later than elsewhere in Europe. Moreover, the preservation of heathen poetry in Icelandic oral tradition, and the antiquarian interests of thirteenth-century Icelandic authors, notably Snorri Sturluson, combine to give us a remarkably full picture of the mythology of the North. But myths are only part of a religion; the folklorist will also want to know something of the rites with which the gods were honoured, and here our Icelandic sources are far less helpful. Eyrbyggja saga describes a temple; The Saga of Hakon the Good in Snorri's Heimskringla gives a few details of the ritual at the midwinter feasts of Norway; a few other sagas preserve small but precious details. But all too often a saga tells us vaguely that some character (usually an unpleasant one) was 'a great man for sacrifices', but keeps complete silence as to how these sacrifices were carried out, and for what purpose. Very likely many of the writers