Chapter I: Front Matter

MYTHS OF THE RHINE

Translated from the French of X. B. Saintine

By Prof. M. Schele De Vere, LL. D.

Illustrated by Gustave Doré

Scribner, Armstrong, and Company

1874

DESCRIPTIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS.

I.

Primitive Times.--The First Settlers on the Rhine.--Masters going to School.--Sanskrit and Breton.--An Idle God.--Microscopic Deities.--Tree Worship.--Birth-Trees and Death-Trees.....001

II.

The Druids and their Creed.--Esus.--The Holy Oak.--The Pforzheim Lime Tree.--A Rival Plant.--The Mistletoe and the Anguinufh.--The Oracle at Do-dona.--Immaculate Horses.--The Druidesses.--A late Elector.--Philanthropic Institution of Human Sacrifices.--Second Druidical. Epoch.....025

III.

A Visit to the Land of our Forefathers.--The Two Banks of the Rhine.--Druid Stones.--Weddings and Burials.--Night Service.--A Demigod Glacier.--Social Duels.--A Countrywoman of Aspasia.--Boudoir of a Celtic Lady.--The Bard’s Story.--Teutons and Titans.--Earthquake.....053

IV.

The Roman Gods invade Germany.--Drusus and the Dru-idess.--Ogmius, the Hercules of Gaul.--Great Philological Discovery concerning Tentâtes.--Transformations of every kind.--Irmensul.--The Rhine deified.--The Gods cross the River.--Druids of the Third Epoch.....089

V.

The World before and since Odin.--Birth of Ymer.--The Giants of the Frost.--A Log split in Two.--The First Man and the First Woman.--The Ash Ygdrasil and its Menagerie.--Thor’s Three Jewels.--Freyr’s Enchanted Sword.--A Souvenir of the National Guard of Belleville.--The Story of Kvasir and the Two Dwarfs.--Honey and Blood.--Invocation.....119

VI.

Short Biographies.--A Clairvoyant among the Gods.--A Bright God.--Tyr and the Wolf Fenris.--The Hospital at the Walhalla.--Why was Odin one-eyed.--The Three Norns.--Mimer the Sage.--A Goddess the Mother of Four Oxen.--The Love Affairs of Heimdall--The God with the Golden Teeth.....151

VII.

Heaven and Hell.--The Valkyrias.--Amusements in Walhalla.--Pork and Wild Boar.--A Frozen Hell.--Balder’s Death.--Frigg’s Devotion.--The Iron Tree Forest.--The Twilight of the Gods.--Iduna’s Apples.--The Fall of Heaven and the End of the World.--Reflections on that Event.--The Little Fellow still alive.....17

VIII.

How the Gods of India live only for a Kalpa, that is, for the Time between one World and another.--How the God Vishnu was One-eyed.--How Celts and Scandinavians believed in Metempsychosis, like the Indians.--How Odin, with his Emanations, came forth from the God Buddha.--About Mahabarata and Ramavana.--Chronology.--The World’s Age.--Comparative Tables.--Quotations.--Supporting Evidence.--A Cenotaph.....209

IX.

Confederation of all the Northern Gods.--Freedom of Religion.--Christianity.--Miserere mei!--Homeric Enumeration.--Prussian, Slavic, and Finnish Deities.--The God of Cherries and the God of Bees.--A Silver Woman.--Ilmarinnen’s Wedding Song.--A Skeleton God.--Yaga-Baba’s Pestle and Mortar.--Preparation for Battle.--The Little Chapel on the Hill.--The Signal for the Attack.--Jesus and Mary.....215

X.

Marietta and the Sweet-briar.--Esus and Jesus.--Amalgam.--A Neophyte.--Prohibition to eat Horseflesh.--Bishops in Arms.--Interruption.--Come Home, my Good Friend!--Prussia and the Myths of the Middle Ages.--Tybilinus, the Black God.--The little Blue Flower.....243

XI.

Elementary Spirits of Air, Fire, and Water.--Sylphs, their Amusements and Domestic Arrangements.--Little Queen Mab.--Will-o’-the- Wisps.--White Elves and Black Elves.--True Causes of Natural Somnambulism.--The Wind’s Betrothed.--Fire-damp.--Master Haemmerling.--The Last of the Gnomes.....261

XII.

Elementary Spirits of the Water.--Petrarch at Cologne.--Divine Judgment by Water.--Nixen and Undines.--A Furlough till Ten o’clock.--The White footed Undine.--Mysteries on the Rhine.--The Court of the Great Nichus.--Nixcobt, the Messenger of the Dead.--His Funny Tricks.--I go in Search of an Undine.....281

XIII.

Familiar Spirits.--Butzemann.--The Good Frau Holle.--Kobolds.--A Kobold in the Cook’s Employ.--Zot-terais and the Little White Ladies.--The Killecroffs, the Devil’s Children.--White Angels.--Granted Wishes, a Fable.....307

XIV.

Giants and Dwarfs.--Duel between Ephesim and Gromme-lund.--Court Dwarfs and Little Dwarfs.--Ymer’s Sons.--The Invisible Reapers.--Story of the Dwarf Kreiss and the Giant Quadragaat.--How the Giants came to serve the Dwarfs.....333

XV.

Wizards and the Bewitched.--The Journey of Asa-Thor and his Companions.--The Inn with the Five Passages.--Skrymner.--A Lost Glove found again.--Arrival at the Great City of Utgard.--Combat between Thor and the King’s Nurse.--Frederick Barbarossa and the Kyffhâuser.--Teutonia! Teutonia!--What became of the Ancient Gods.--Venus and the good Knight Tannhâuser.--Jupiter on Rabbit Island.--A Modern God.....369