Judgement and Punishment in Norse Mythology
Nine is the number of nights you will sit on the Nornarstóll before moving on to the afterlife. Evildoers descend. The righteous ascend.
Contrary to popular belief, judgement and punishment in Pagan times was a real thing, but not for the reasons you may think. It is often thought that the idea of being judged after death by a being, be it a god or otherwise, is found only in Abrahamic thought. An examination of the old Norse sources such as the Vǫluspá, Gilfagynning and more reveals that Pagans in ancient times had strong moral convictions and that being immoral had harmful consequences - both in this life and the next.
On Nástrand is a great hall and evil, and its doors face to the north: it is all woven of serpent-backs like a wattle-house; and all the snake-heads turn into the house and blow venom, so that along the hall run rivers of venom; and they who have broken oaths, and murderers, wade those rivers, even as it says here:
I know a hall standing | far from the sun,
In Nástrand: the doors; | to northward are turned;
Venom-drops fill | down from the roof-holes;
That hall is bordered | with backs of serpents.
There are doomed to wade | the weltering streams
Men that are mansworn, | and they that murderers are.
But it is worst in Hvergelmir (Bubbling Boiling Spring):
There the cursed snake | tears dead men's corpses.
-Gylfaginning 52, Prose Edda
Heitstrenging (“Vow-Stringing”)
The term heitstrenging can best be referred to as “oath-swearing” or “oath-binding”. In Old Norse society, oath-swearing was primarily conducted at Yule upon a sónargǫltr (“Sacrifice/Sacred Boar”) (See: Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar and Ynglinga Saga) and at large social gatherings upon a baugr or hringr (arm-ring) (See: Landnámabók, Úlfljótr’s Laws, Eyrbyggja Saga, Gesta Danorum, Beowulf 80-81).
In the Landnámabók, an Icelandic law instructed that the leaders of an Alþingi (Anglicised: Althing - assembly, general gathering or appointed time gathering) were to redden their arm-rings with ox blood. An Althing was historically organised to settle disputes about land, political and religious issues. For example, by 1000 AD, the Icelandic Althing had declared that it was obligatory to prosecute one’s own relatives for blaspheming against the Norse Gods.
Furthermore, Úlfljótr’s Laws stated:
“A stallahringr (“sacred temple ring”) of two ounces or more should lie on the altar of every main temple. Every man who needed to perform legal acts before the court must first swear an oath on this ring and mention two or more witnesses. ‘I name witnesses’ he must say, ‘that I swear the oath on the ring, a lawful oath. So help me Njǫrðr and the Almighty Áss (Thor).’”
Moreover, the Eyrbyggja Saga mentions a pedestal in the middle of a temple where the sacrificial blood is held, and that a twenty-ounce arm-ring must be kept on the pedestal which is to be used for swearing oaths, and for the goðar (Pagan priests) to wear as a contract binding mortal men and the Gods together as well as the sacred space and surrounding land.
In the Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus, King Hrólfr Kraki gifts a young man named Wigg a pair of arm-rings and in return Wigg swears an oath to take vengeance on any future killer of King Hrólfr. Additionally, in a skaldic poem by Þjóðólfr Arnórsson (c. 1010-1066) we learn of King Harald Hardrada being referred to as Snjǫllum hrings (“giver of rings”). Ultimately, we learn from the sources above that arm-rings were of great importance in the context of oath-swearing in ancient times. In Beowulf, we read:
“(King Hrothgar) did not leave unfulfilled his oath: arm-rings he dealt out, and treasure at the ale-feast.” -Beowulf (80-81).
What’s more, the fragmentary text Rudolieb, based around southern Germany in the 11th century mentions arm-rings used in a wedding ceremony, which reads:
“Following the exchange of swords, the bride and groom exchanged arm-rings. The bride’s ring was offered to her on the hilt of the groom’s new sword, and his tendered to him in the same fashion: with the rings upon their arms, and their hands joined upon the sword-hilt, the couple then spoke their vows.”
Other relevant sources worth mentioning in regards to oath-swearing include the Lay of Volundr involving the swearing of an oath by King Niðuðr upon a ship, shield, horse and the edge of a blade. Additionally, Other sources also note that rings were important items when oaths were sworn, as for the year 876 AD, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle noted that King Alfred managed to force a viking army under the command of King Guthrum into a short-lived truce, and he þa aþas sworon on þam hâlgan beage (“they swore him oaths on the sacred ring”), as well as the Hávamál in which Óðinn is referred to by a seeress regarding His swearing and breaking of an oath upon His ring to obtain the Mead of Poetry:
On his ring swore Óðinn | the oath;
Who now his troth shall trust?
Suttungr's betrayal | he sought with drink,
And Gunnlǫðr (“Battle-Invitation”) to grief he left.
-Hávamál, Stanza 110, Poetic Edda
As explored above, we understand from the sources above that arm-rings were very important to Germanic people in the past, primarily in regards to oath-binding contexts. Modern Pagans should feel encouraged to incorporate these practices into their lives today - using arm-rings for swearing oaths to ourselves, the Elves, the Gods, the ancestors and in marriage ceremonies - all of which are authentic ways to continue an unbroken tradition today.
Oath-breaking and Níðingr Status
Breaking one’s solemn oath in Pagan times was seen as extremely immoral. The consequences of which were both physical and spiritual punishment. Oath-breaking, amongst other immoral actions in Pagan society we will discuss later, resulted in one becoming a níðingr (“wretched”, “malicious”, “shameful”). Oath-breaking resulted in a loss of status, sometimes outlawry and even enslavement. Additionally, an oath-breaker would experience that the items on which he swore (whether weapons, horses, or ships) would turn against him if he broke the oath as read in the Second Poem of Helgi Hundingsbani (Helgakviða Hundingsbana II), whereby Sigrun pronounces to her brother that she wishes all the oaths he swore to Helgi would rebound upon him, and that the objects upon which Dag swore, the ship and the horse, will fail him:
"The ship shall sail not | in which thou sailest,
Though a favoring wind | shall follow after;
The horse shall run not | whereon thou ridest,
Though fain thou art | thy foe to flee.
The sword shall bite not | which thou bearest,
Till thy head itself | it sings about.
Vengeance were mine | for Helgi's murder,
Wert thou a wolf | in the woods without,
Possessing nought | and knowing no joy,
Having no food | save corpses to feed on."
-Sigrun to Dag, Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, Stanza 30-32, Poetic Edda
Another example whereby oath-breakers are cursed to have the items they swore upon fail them is expressed in a treaty of 945 between the Rus and the Greeks. If the Rus broke the treaty “may they rather be slain by their own swords, laid low by their arrows or by any of their own weapons, and may they be in bondage forever.” From this, we gather that when it comes to morality and the consequences of one’s actions the spiritual realms and the physical word are intrinsically linked. There is therefore no separation between our realm and the rest.
In the Sigrdrífumál, Sigrdrifa condemns an oath breaker, and compares him to a vargr (“wolf”) by calling him a “wolf of his word”, and the seeress featured in the poem concurs the judgement:
“Then second I rede thee, | to swear no oath
If true thou knowest it not;
Bitter the fate | of the breaker of troth,
And poor is the wolf of his word.”
-Sigrdrífumál, Stanza 23, Poetic Edda
Summarily, we can gather that there were (and therefore are) negative consequences to what can be referred to in effect as lying, deceiving and of course oath-breaking.
Málrúnar and the Magical Perspective
As discussed, ancient Pagans viewed our world and the other realms as being intrinsically connected with one another and the veil between our world and the others was viewed as (and therefore is) translucent. Regarding oaths, Málrúnar (“Speech Runes”) has been employed historically whereby an oath spoken wrongly or deceitfully could have severe consequences. An oath taker may deliberately swear to something that was technically true but morally dubious as seen in the Víga-Glúms Saga in which Glum swore that he had not killed Thorvald Hook when in fact he did. Glum took “a temple oath on the ring and I deny to the god, that I was not there and did not strike there and did not redden point or edge where Thorvald Hook met his death.” Glum’s oath and the manner in which he says “I was at that place” (ek vark at a þar) and “I was not there” (ek varkat þar) sound identical and can therefore be seen as an example of someone using Speech Runes to deceive others in an oath-swearing context.
It is unknown as to whether using Speech Runes and other verbal tricks in an oath-binding context was historically acceptable or not, but it was soon pointed out that Glum had in fact admitted to the killings, “in the most unusual words” and also that it was disgraceful for Glum’s opponents for not catching this verbal trick. Riisoy (2016) suggests that if using verbal tricks such as Speech Runes was acceptable, then outright falsely swearing an oath was not, as Glum may have known about the advice spelled out by Sigrdrifa where she admonished the dragon-slayer Sigurd not to swear an oath unless it is truly kept because terrible fate-bonds attach to the oath-tearer.
Evildoers, Corpse Shore and the Bubbling Boiling Spring
Most of the primary references regarding afterlife destinations in Norse mythology come from a few sources found in the Prose and Poetic Edda: Gylfaginning, Grímnismál and Vǫluspá. Nástrǫnd (“Corpse Shore”) is considered to be the destination of oath-breakers, murderers and adulterers and others deemed to have committed immoral acts in life, whereby Níðhǫggr (“Malice/Shame Striker”, “Dread Biter”) sucks the blood from the the dead that have been doomed to wade through toxic streams in a seemingly suspended upside down state, impaled upon spikes as snakes spray venom into the open wounds. The Vǫluspá provides us with a clear description of who goes to Nástrǫnd upon death:
“I saw there wading | through rivers wild
Treacherous men | and murderers too,
And workers of ill | with the wives of men;
There Níðhǫggr sucked | the blood of the slain,
And the wolf tore men; | would you know yet more?”
-Vǫluspá, Stanza 38, Poetic Edda
Below Nástrǫnd is Hvergelmir (“Bubbling Boiling Spring”), one of the three primordial springs at the primary roots of Yggdrasil. The other two being Urðarbrunnr (“Well of Fate”) and Mímisbrunnr (“Well of Mímir”) - Mímir being the being whom Óðinn consults for knowledge and wise-counsel as He carries Mímir’s head with Him throughout the nine realms of Yggdrasil. Mímir’s name meaning “to think, recall, recollect, memory, remember”. Óðinn as Just-as-High in the Gylfaginning says that three primary roots of Yggdrasil support it and "extend very, very far", and that the third one extends over Nifleheim (“Mist Home”). Beneath this root at the base of Yggdrasil is Hvergelmir where Níðhǫggr knaws at the root of Yggdrasil and torments the corpses of the dead. The source of Hvergelmir is the liquid that drops from the antlers of Eikþyrnir (“Oak-thorny”), the stag which stands upon the roof of Óðinn’s hall Valhǫll where it is said that “From his horns a stream into Hvergelmir drops, thence all the rivers run.” (Grímnismál, Stanza 26, Poetic Edda).
Fire-Shelter and the Righteous Dead at Ragnarök
Whilst there are innumerable afterlife destinations one can choose to go to or be sent to, such as any of the great halls in Ásgarðr (“Fort/Yard of the Celestial Gods”), anywhere in Vanaheimr (Vanir Home), as well as Elfheimr (Elf Home) and Hel after death, one of the most striking contrasts to Nástrǫnd and Hvergelmir is Gimlé (“Fire-Shelter”, “Gem-Roof”). Said to be where the worthy souls who survive Ragnarök will live. The Gylfaginning is the main reference to Gimlé, whereby Óðinn in the guise of Hárr (High), Jafnhárr (Just-as-High), and Þriði (Third) reveals to King Gylfi who is disguised as Gangleri (in what I believe to be during his experience with some form of töfr (“sorcery”) practice or seiðr practice, or a dream-like state referred to as “the path of the serpent”), knowledge and wisdom concerning the cosmological nature of the universe. Gimlé is referred to numerously in the Gylfaginning here:
Reference I. P.16
Then said Jafnhárr: "He fashioned heaven and earth and air, and all things which are in them." Then. spake Thridi: "The greatest of all is this: that he made man, and gave him the spirit, which shall live and never perish, though the flesh-frame rot to mould, or burn to ashes; and all men shall live, such as are just in action, and be with himself in the place called Gimlé. But evil men go to Hel and thence down to the Misty Hel; and that is down in the ninth world." Then said Gangleri: "What did he before heaven and earth were made?" And Hárr answered: "He was then with the Rime-Giants."
Gangleri said: "What was the beginning, or how began it, or what was before it?" Hárr answered: "As is told in Vǫluspá :
Long ago was the age | when nothing was:
Neither sand nor sea, | nor chilling waves;
Earth was not, | nor heaven above -
A Yawning Void, | of grass still shy."
Reference II. P.31
“Whenever Allfather (Óðinn) sits in that seat, he surveys all lands. At the southern end of heaven is that hall which is fairest of all, and brighter than the sun; it is called Gimlé. It shall stand when both heaven and earth have departed; and good men and of righteous conversation shall dwell therein: so it is said in Vǫluspá:
A hall I know standing | than the sun fairer,
Thatched with gold | in Gimlé bright;
There shall dwell | the doers of righteousness
And ever and ever | enjoy delight."
Reference III. P.82
Then said Gangleri: “What shall come to pass afterward, when all the world is burned, and dead are all the gods and all the champions and all mankind? Have ye not said before, that every man shall live in some world throughout all ages?" Then Þriði answered: "In that time the good abodes shall be many, and many the ill; then it shall be best to be in Gimlé in Heaven. Moreover, there is plenteous abundance of good drink, for them that esteem that a pleasure, in the hall which is called Brimir: it stands in Ókólnir "(“Never Cold”). That too is a good hall which stands in Niðavellir (“New Moon Fields”, “Dark Fields”, also called Myrkheimr - “Dark Home”, “Dark Abode”), made of red gold; its name is Sindri (“Spark”). In these halls shall dwell good men and pure in heart.
"On Nástrand is a great hall and evil, and its doors face to the north: it is all woven of serpent-backs like a wattle-house; and all the snake-heads turn into the house and blow venom, so that along the hall run rivers of venom; and they who have broken oaths, and murderers, wade those rivers, even as it says here:
I know a hall standing | far from the sun,
In Nástrand: the doors; | to northward are turned;
Venom-drops fill | down from the roof-holes;
That hall is bordered | with backs of serpents.
There are doomed to wade | the weltering streams
Men that are mansworn, | and they that murderers are.
But it is worst in Hvergelmir:
There the cursed snake | tears dead men's corpses."
Ultimately, we learn from the old Norse sources that not only are the myths extremely multifaceted, and that various discussions about the same myths can be explored at once on various levels - Pagans in ancient times had very strong moral convictions which ultimately stemmed from divine sources. We understand that they viewed the following actions to be immoral: lying, deceiving, oath-breaking, murder and infidelity It is therefore a wise choice for modern Germanic Pagans seeking to see the world through the psychological lens of the ancestors and in effect embody that which is divinely inspired and true, to live by the same morality that was followed in ancient times which we have explored above, and to meditate upon the wisdom shared with us in the ancient sources.