University of Helsinki
Anchor study 4, led by Jesse Barber, examines worldviews conveyed by Scandinavian medieval sources on pre-Christian religions, and compares them with later Scandinavian sources about folk beliefs. The study uses textual sources as well as objects from the archaeological record to consider the materiality of these beliefs. Incantations are especially important in illustrating how supernatural power existed for believers, not only in the mythic world, but also in empirical reality. This study does not consider the medieval and later sources as isolated traditions; rather, it places both on a long-term spectrum of continuity of beliefs, while also considering the fusion of these traditions with Christian cosmology.
The connection between Old Norse mythology and later Scandinavian folklore can be illustrated through legends about Kettil Runske. Kettil Runske is a trollkarl or runkarl [‘sorcerer’] and his nickname Runske emphasizes his use and knowledge of runes. He is surrounded by a cycle of legends, most of which depict him saving the common people and fighting sorcerers, trolls and giant serpents by binding them with his rune-staves and his runecraft. In one legend about the origins of his powers, Kettil steals these rune-staves from Oden, which in some ways designates Kettil as the Christian successor to the old god as the wielder of the runes. These legends come mostly from southern Sweden but can also be found in the North. Most legends about him were collected around the 17th century, and the earliest known mention of Kettil comes from Olaus Magnus in 1555.
One episode from Kettil’s legendary cycle depicts him binding a sea serpent to the bottom of lake Storsjön in Jämtland, Sweden, which was collected there in 1635. The legend tells of a sea serpent that was harming the local people. The people lacked the means to destroy it, so they sent for the help of the renowned Kettil Runske. Kettil came and erected a great stone on the island of Frösö and carved runes upon it, which bound the serpent to the bottom of the lake. The legend reports that there the serpent will stay, so long as the runes remain. Other variants of the legend say that once the sea serpent grows large enough to encircle the island and bite its own tail, the world will end. The runestone mentioned in the legend is an actual runestone from the archaeological record of Frösö. The runes upon the stone say nothing of a local sea serpent, but the stone does depict a serpent biting its tail.
This legend has many parallels with myths about the world serpent that, in the medieval material, encircles all land, biting its own tail, and that will break forth at Ragnarǫk. It is also important to remember that, when these legends were documented, they were most likely isolated from published versions of Snorri Sturluson’s Edda and medieval eddic poetry. Traditions of the world serpent were most probably forgotten by the 16th century in Sweden. However, it is possible that these legends have their roots in older traditions about the world serpent. This is especially enticing when considering that Kettil stole his runestaves from Oden, linking him to the Old Norse Óðinn, who bound the world serpent just as Kettil does the sea serpent.
The study is organized in four parts. The first focuses on textual sources that convey cosmological beliefs. The second concentrates on material from the archaeological record connected to mythic knowledge, and the third on incantations that demonstrate the use of mythic powers. The last combines the above sources to illustrate the long-term continuity of beliefs in Scandinavia
Sources include medieval eddic and skaldic poetry, saga literature, published corpora of later charms and runic inscriptions, as well as published and unpublished narrative folklore, such as legends and beliefs. Unpublished materials used are mainly in the archives of Uppsala’s Institute for Language and Folklore and Stockholm’s Nordiska Museet.