Valkyries, Midwives, Weavers, and Shape-Changers: Atli's Mother the Snake

Author(s): James V. McMahon

Source: Scandinavian Studies, Vol. 66, No. 4 (Winter 1994), pp. 475-487
Published by: University of Illinois Press on behalf of the Society for the Advancement of
Scandinavian Study
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40919694
Accessed: 31-03-2015 09:19 UTC
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Midwives,Weavers,
Valkyries,
and Shape-Changers:
AtlPsMotherthe Snake
JamesV. McMahon
EmoryUniversity
death of Gunnar in the SNAKE-rrr
is described in several
stories. Snorri Sturluson reportsin Skdldskaparmdl:
GunnariUt hann [Atli]kastai ormgarb,
en honumvarfenginleyniliga
harpaoksl6hannnubtdnum,
pviat hendrbansvdrubundnar,en svdlek
hannhurpuna,
svdat allirormarnir
sojhuSu,nemasu nabra,er rendiat
honumokhjdsvdfyrirflagbrjdskat,
at honsteypbi
hefiinuinniholitokhangU
hond lijrinni,
Edda 182-3)
par tilcrhanndo. (J6nsson,
(He [Atli]had Gunnarthrowninto a snake-pit,but he was secretly
providedwitha harp,and he pluckeditwithhistoes,as hishandswere
tied.He playedtheharpin sucha waythatall thesnakeswentto sleep
exceptforone adderthatdartedat himand struckat thebottomofhis
breastbone,
buryingitshead in thehollowand hangingon to his liver
untilhe died. [Faulkes104])
The Vglsungasaga says that Gunnar played the harp so well in the
snake pit that
allirsojhupuormarnir,
nemaeinnapramikilokilliligskreip
tilhansokgrdf
innsinumrana,par tilerhonhjdhanshjarta,okpar Uthannsittlifmep
mikilli
(Ranisch70)
hreysti.
(all thesnakesfellasleep,exceptforone largeand uglyadderthatcrept
up to himand dug himwithitssnout,so thatit cutintohisheart.And
thenhe lefthislife,withgreatcourage.[Anderson129])
The briefaccount in theEddie fragmentcaStedDrdpNifluryja(Neckel/
Kuhn 223) is similar:
I am grateful
to theanonymous
readerfor Scandinavian
Studies
forsteering
me to
book.
Sorensen's

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476

Scandinavian Studies
ocspafiiormana,ennnafira
Gunnar(var)settri orrngarb.
Hann sldhgrpo
stacchanntilUfrar.

wascastintotheserpent's
den.He smoteontheharpandput
(Gunnar
theserpents
tosleep,butanadderstung
himintheliver.[Bellows
449])
Gunnar'sdeathis also described,withoutreference
to any specific
inscamma(strophe
snake,in severalEddie poems,suchas Sigurdarqvifia
1,216), Atlaqvida(strophe31; Neckel/Kuhn
1,245),
59; Neckel/Kuhn
Atlamdl(strophes66-67; Neckel/Kuhn
1,257) zndGudrunarhvgt
(stroI, 267).
phe 17; Neckel/Kuhn
The storyis muchthesame in all theseaccounts,untilwe come to
a new and extraordinary
OddrunargrAtr
(strophe32), whichintroduces
element:thesnakethatkillsGunnaris actuallyAtli'smother.
In thispoem, calledin EnglishOddrun'sLament^Oddrun tellsof
comingtoo lateto rescueherbelovedGunnar.She had heardhismusic
fromacrossa bodyof waterand triedto reachhim beforethe snakes
couldkillhim,butbeforeshe couldgetthere,
Pa korn
inarma utsuvandi
morna!
mdbirAtlahonscyli
Oc Gunnari fr6ftil
hiarta,
nuerom
svdat ecmdttipfac
I, 239)
biarga.(Neckel/Kuhn
womancamealong,
(Thenthewretched
Atli'smother
[maysherot!],
andbitintoGunnar's
heart,
so thatI couldnotsavethatheroicman.)1
This stropheis usuallytakento meanthatAtli'smother,in theform
ofa snake,killedGunnar,andI am goingto takeitthatwayas well.But
thatmustbe menthereare some problemsof textand interpretation
tionedbeforethatassumptioncan be made.
of thispoem,
HenryAdams Bellows,in a note to his translation
be
a
scribal
errorfor
mother"
the
"Atli's
that
may
phrase
suggests
a
snake
"motherofserpents,"
(478). No one
meaningsimply verylarge
seems to have acceptedthis suggestion,presumablybecause neither
Bellowsnoranyoneelseeverfounda plausiblereasonwhya scribemight
makesuchan error.
to Atli'smotherthe
WilhelmGrimmalso believedthatthereference
snakewas a mistake:
1Translations
are bytheauthor.
nototherwiseattributed

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Atli's Mother the Snake

477

dentGunnardas herz
Atlesmutter,
die,in cineschlange
verwandelt,
cineschlangc
ibrdaseineinem
misverstandnis:
als
verdankt
groszer
abnagty
(361)
dieiibrifcnistfcmeint.
intoa snake,gnawsat Gunnar's
who,havingchanged
(Atli'smother,
a snakelarger
existence
to
a
thanthe
owes
her
heart,
misunderstanding;
is meant.)
others
elementsofvarious
Grimmtreatsthisquestionina chapterdiscussing
heroicstorieswhicharefoundonlyina singleaccountandaresuspectfor
to Atli'smotherthe snakeis suspect
thatreason.Thus the reference
This argumentis easilyrebecauseit appearsonlyin Oddninargrdtr.
knewthetraditional
futed:theauthoroiOddrunargrdtr
certainly
story
ofGunnar'sdeath,andtheideathatAtli'smothercouldturnintoa snake
musthaveeitherbeenpartof thattradition(thoughnot mentionedin
anyotherextantsource) or compatiblewithit in the sensethatthere
If
musthavebeensomestoriesaboutthestrangepowersofAtli'sfamily.
hissistershavemagicpowers(and we willsee thattheydo), it is not at
all far-fetched
to claimthattheirmothermayhavehad equallygreator
greaterpowers.
Anotherexplanationis thatof RobertPetsch.In an articleentitled
he relatesthestoryof Gunnar'sdeathto a
"Gunnarim Schlangenturm"
who cankillallthe
folk-tale
thatappearsinvariousplacesabouta sorcerer
snakesin an area exceptthewhitequeen snake,overwhom he has no
power.On beingassuredthatno whitesnakehasbeenseenintheregion,
he goes to work.All thesnakesarecharmedintoa fireand burned,but
one ofthemturnsout to be thequeen snakeafterall,and she biteshim
fatallybeforedyingherself.Petschpostulatesthatin theEddie version
mostofthestoryhas beenforgotten;
all thatremainsis theidea thatthe
sorcerer(hereGunnar)can put all thesnakesto sleepexceptone, who
killshim.The poetofOddninarjjrdtr,
however,awarethatthestoryas he
knewitgaveno motiveforthekillersnake,inserted
theideathatthefatal
snakewas Atli'smother.This providedthe necessaryconflictforthe
story:OddrunlovesGunnarand Atli'smotherhateshim; two women
struggleoverthelifeof one man.
Ifwe takethetextof Oddninargrdtr
we findthatGunnaris
literally,
in
a
snake
when
he
and
he
is certainly
slainbyAtli's
dies,
certainly
pit
mother,butwe neednotconcludethatAtli'smotherhad takentheform
of a snake.It is possiblethatAtli'smotherslew Gunnarin herhuman
form.The verbformsexvandi
is glossedbyNeckel/Kuhn
as follows:

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478

Scandinavian Studies

scaeva(ad;got.skewjan)
swv.sichfortbewegen,
vonderschlange
(Od.
walkiire
(AM.98), voneinerdurchdieluft:
32),demschiffe
fliegenden
(H H. H 4) undcinerfrau(Akv.35). (II, 179)
thatthisverbis used to describethemotionof a snake,
In implying
like
of the text,are assumingthatthis
Neckel/Kuhn, some translators
to
a
but
the
rest
of thegloss showsclearlythatit
refers
snake,
strophe
as "slithered"
or byanyotherwordsuggesting
neednotbe translated
the
movementof a snake.It simplymeanssomethinglike"move"or ccgo"
and a
forwardand is used elsewhereto referto a ship,a flying
valkyrie,
of skevais simply:"bevaegesig fremad"
woman. Fritzner'sdefinition
SprqgIII, 415). He citesthispassagein
(Ordbqgoverdetgamlenorske
of a snake.The Gothicskewjan,
but
with
no
mention
Oddrunargratr,
translates
theGreek68ottollv
citedbyNeckel/Kuhn,
meaningsimply
Teil 2, 123;
"to makea pathforoneself,to makeone'sway"(Streitberg
reason
it
could
notalso
There
is
no
Liddel/Scott
1026).
why
compelling
hereto a woman,namelyAtli'smother.So itis possibleto readthis
refer
stropheas sayingsimplythatGunnarwas slainbyAtli'smotherwhilehe
was in the snakepit. She need not havetakenon the formof a snake
herself.
forit
is mentionedonlyto be dismissed,
However,thisinterpretation
withtheotherversionsofthestory,allofwhichstateclearlythat
conflicts
Gunnarwas killedbybeingbittenbya snake.Withthatas a given,the
ofthisstropheis thatAtli'smother,whoevershe
obviousinterpretation
hermotives,had takenon theformof a
and
whatever
have
been
may
snakein orderto killGunnar.
On the otherhand,it is also possiblethatshape changersdid not
actuallychangetheirshape.Accordingto MargaretMurray,whatwas
called shape-changing
may have been only a kind of hypnosis.The
witcheswho claimedto be able to changeshapemerelydeclaredthemselveschanged,orputon a skinora symboloftheanimalintowhichthey
"changed."They may have feltthemselvesto be changed,and their
fellowwitchesand thosewho believedin themmayevenhaveregarded
in
themas changed,butthechangewas onlysymbolic(The Witch-Cult
in
the
in
Burton
Western
Russell, Witchcraft
Europe230-5). Jeffrey
that"God does not grant
MiddleAges', citesAugustineas maintaining
are
what
to
make
to
demons
they not.He does allowthem
things
power
delude
to
men's
thepower
minds,however,and shapeshifting
maybe
consideredthiskindofillusion"(56-7). So it is possiblethata woman,
Atli'smother,stabbedGunnarwhileclaimingor appearing
presumably

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Atli's Mother the Snake

479

to be a snake.But whetherAtli'smotherwas a realsnakeor a woman

actinglikea snake,shewas a witchwithunusualpowersand a murderer.
As faras thistextis concerned,
a realsnakeanda witchwho canconvince
onlookersthatshe is a snakearethesamething.
In fact,severaltextsindicatethatall thewomenin Atli'sfamily,
his
motherand his threesisters,may have had magic powersof various
kinds.
His motheris also mentionedin strophe96 ofAtlamdl,whereAtli
reproachesGudrunwiththewords:
Svaro
I, 261)
Uztupina sitiaopt
grdtna.(Neckel-Kuhn
often
made
mother-in-law
sit
and
(you
your
weep.)
As forthethreesisters,
Atliis everywhere
calledtheson ofBudli,and
is oftencalledBudli'sdaughterandAtli'ssister.Oddninargrdtr
Brynhild
saysthatOddrun'sfatherdied when she was onlyfiveyearsold, but
beforehe died he orderedthatOddrunshouldmarry"Grimhild'sson"
andthatBrynhild
shouldbe a Valkyrie.
Thus itis clearthatOddrunand
Brynhildare sisters.Finally,theVglsungasaga saysthatAtli,Brynhild
and Oddrunhave anothersister,Bekkhild,who marriesHeimir,the
foster-father
of Brynhild.(Atlamdlalso mentionsthatAtli had three
butonlythefemalefamilymembersseemto have anymagic
brothers,
powers.)
The sibling-relationship
betweenAtli and Brynhildis of particular
interest.
TheodoreAndersson,
inTheLegendofBrynhild^
remindsus that
thesetwo had no connectionin theearliestversionsof theirrespective
storiesandwereprobablybroughttogether
in literature
becauseoftheir
commonantagonism
towardtheBurgundians
.
In
(35)
anycase,theyare
relatedonlyin theScandinavianversionsofthisgreatsetof stories.
The ideaofshape-changing
is notunusualin Old Norsestories.As H.
R. Ellis Davidsonsaysin "HostileMagic in theIcelandicSagas," there
aremanyexamplesin thesagaswherea witchmakesan attackin animal
form(29). Chapterfiveof the Vglsungasaga tellsof the motherof
Siggeir,who changedherselfintoa wolfand killednineof Sigmund's
and chaptersevenofthesamestorytellshow a beautiftd
witch
brothers,
with
her
to
with
her
brother
exchangedshapes
Signy,enabling
sleep
Sigmundand conceivea child,Sinfjdtli.
If Atli'smotherhad the abilityto changeher shape, what magic
We find,in fact,that
powersmightshe havepassedon to herchildren?

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480

Scandinavian Studies

fromhis motheronlya bad disposiwhileAtliseemsto haveinherited

and
Oddrun
the
sisters
tion,
clearlyhad extraordinary
powers
Brynhild
as is wellknown,was a valkyrie,
witches.
of
medieval
Brynhild,
typical
strongerthanany man and able to fly,while Oddrun was a famous
births.
abletousemagicchantstoassistindifficult
midwife,
Oddninargratr
beginswhenOddrunis summonedto help herformerfriendBorgny,
who is havingtroublegivingbirth.She has promisedto use hergiftsfor
the benefitof all, so despiteherdislikeforBorgny,she comes to her
thebirthoftwins
andusesmagicspellsandcharmsto facilitate
assistance
I, 234-235).
(strophes1-9; Neckel/Kuhn
thethirdsister,comesfromchapter23 of
All we knowofBekkhild,
theVglsunga
"bench")because
saga. Her nameis Bekkhild(frombekkr
This hannyrp
she, unlikeBrynhild,stayedat home and did hannyrp.
could be anykindof finehand-workusuallydone bywomen,such as
or weaving;the same usage occursin the Second Lay of
embroidery
thatin the
Gudrun(strophe15; Neckel/Kuhn
I, 226). It is interesting
is seenfirst
nextchapteroftheVglsunga
saga Brynhild
weavingthedeeds
hisand herfuture(though
and thenpredicting
ofSigurdintoa tapestry
is a weaver,wouldnother
showsonlyhispast).IfBrynhild
hertapestry
sisterBekkhild,whose name impliesthatsuch workwas her special
havelearnedthatartas well?The reasonweavingis significant
province,
in this contextis thatweavingwas also associatedwith witchcraft.
ValerieI. J.Flint,inTheRiseofMagic inEarlyMedievalEurope, speaksof
forbidden
bytheChurch:
weavingas one ofthe"magicarts"sometimes
. . . sought
at
the
when
to
women
loom,
who,
occupied
objected
"Eligius
the
unfortuto exercisesupernatural
naming
through
apparently
power,
natepersonstheysoughtto involve"(226). Flintalso says:ccWeaving
becauseit could be
mayhavedrawnupon itselfespecialcondemnation
to non-Chrisfamiliar
and
associatedwiththeligaturas^
bindings
plaits
tianmagic(medicalmagicespecially)andwiththosemagicalknotsand
commonin ancient
charmsand cursesapparently
binding-and-loosing
Flint
non-Christian
pointsout that
magicalpractices"(228). Finally,
"thecapacityto weave bindingfatesforpersonswas one possessedby
Valkyriesand Norns" (229). Thus what seems on the surfaceto be
simplydomesticworkcan also be seenas a formofmagic,and although
we haveno otherstoriesinvolvingBekkhild,thereis a good possibility
thatshe too, likehersisters,
possessesmagicpowers.
We mustnoteagainthatOddrunis atoddswithhermother.Sheuses
does
atleastinthisinstance,
hergiftsto benefit
others,whilehermother,

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Atli's Mother the Snake

481

evilwithherpowers.It is notsurprising
thatOddrunshouldhateboth
herfrommarrying
herbrotherand hermother,forAdi had prevented
Gunnar,herlover,andhermotherhasslainGunnar.ThusOddrunrefers
to herown motheronlyas "Atli'smother"and wishesthatshe should
1,239) . Lee Hollander,in a noteto his
perish(strophe32; Neckel/Kuhn
ofthisstrophe,
herethatAtli's
translation
says: "Thepoetseemstoforget
motheris her own also" (329). But it is hard to imagineany poet
sucha relationship;
itseemsmorelikelythatthereference
is
"forgetting"
and thatOddrunwishesto associateAtliand theirmotherin
deliberate,
herself
frombothhermotherandherbrother.
thiscrime,whiledistancing
Midwivesweretraditionally
aswitches,
regarded
havingspecialknowlMorrisstates:"TheancientGermansthought
edgeandpowers.Katherine
thatwomen were especiallythreatenedby demonsduringlabor,and
certainmagicritualswereperformed
thatwereknownonlybywomen"
in theHandw'&rterbuch
des
(79). The article"Hebamme"byJungwirth
also makesthesamepoint.Thoughearlysources
deutschenAberglaubens
arefew,latertextsassociating
andwitchcraft
areplentiful,
and
midwifery
refer
to
a
centuries-old
tradition.
In
addition
toOddninarjjrdtr,
theyclearly
the themeis also treatedin the eddic poems Fafnismdl(strophe12;
Neckel/Kuhn
1, 182), in whichSigurdasksFafnirabouttheNornsthat
women
help
givingbirth,and Sigrdrifomdl
(strophe9; Neckel/KuhnI,
in
which
refers
to
"birthrunes"
forhelpingwomen in
191),
Sigrdrifa
labor(Morris78-81).
in his GestaDanorum {History
Saxo Grammaticus,
of theDanes),
writesof threekindsof preternatural
that
existed
in ancient
beings
Scandinavia:giants,wizards,andthemixedoffspring
ofthefirst
two.He
says:
Horum utriqueper sutnmamludificandorumoculorumpericiam,proprios
alienosqueuultus,uariisrerumimaginibusadumbrarecallebant,illicibusque
fbrtnisuerosobscumreconspectus.Tercii aero generis homines,ex alterna
superiorutncopula puUulantes, auctorum suorum nature, nee corporum
magnitudinenee arciutn exerciciorespondebant.His tamen apud delusas
prestigiismentesdiuinitatisaccessitopinio. (Holder 20)

(Boththesetypes[giantsandwizards],beingdexterousin deceivingthe
different
eye,were cleverat counterfeiting
shapesforthemselvesand
others,and concealingtheirtrueappearanceunderfalseguises.The
thirdclass, bred froman intermingling
of the othertwo, reflected
neitherthesize northemagicartsoftheirparents.Nevertheless
minds
deludedbytheirlegerdemain
believedin theirdivinity.[Fischer19])

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482

Scandinavian Studies

The legendary
ofAtliandhisfamily
mighthavebeenthought
figures
to belongto thesecondgroup,thewizards,or evento thethirdgroup,
whosemembershad lesserpowers,butcouldstillpracticeenough"legerdemain"to deceiveothers.The idea thatmixed-breeddescendants
thevalkyrie,
loses
haveattenuated
powersmightexplainwhyBrynhild,
Oddrunseemsto haveonlythepowersof
herpowerswithhervirginity,
themidwife,and Bekkhild'spowers,ifshe has any,are not mentioned
in anyextanttext.It maybe thateachsuccessivechildinherits
explicitly
lessofthefamilygift.
to the
Atliwas a Hun mayhavecontributed
The factthatthehistorical
The earliestextant
storiesaboutthemagicpowersofhisfemalerelatives.
AttilacontainthelegendthattheHuns were
accountsof thehistorical
descendedfromwitches.
claimedto havetakenhisaccountoftheoriginoftheHuns
Jordanes
fromOrosius,who reportedthatFilimer,kingof theGoths,
sermone
Haliurunas
suoquasdammagasmulieres,
quaspatrio
reperit
inpopulo
sui
habens
de
medio
isipsecognominat,
proturbat,
longeque
suspectas,
casque
immundi
errare.
insolitudinern,
ab exercitu
Quas spiritus
co'egit
suofugatas
in coitu
et earumse complexibus
per eremumvagantesdum vidissent,
edidere.
hoc
Closs
miscuissenty
(XXIV;
93-94)
genus ferocissimum
(foundamonghispeople certainwitches,whomhe calledin his native
thesewomen,he expelledthemfrom
tongue"Haliurunnae."Suspecting
exileafar
themidstofhisraceandcompelledthemto wanderin solitary
fromhis army.There the uncleanspirits,who beheld themas they
bestowedtheirembracesupon them
wanderedthroughthewilderness,
and begatthissavagerace. [Mierow85])
This storywas then takenup and repeated by many other historians,
indicatingthat it was well known throughoutEurope. The Hungarian
Simon Keza, who wrote his historybetween 1282 and 1285, believed
thatthe Huns were the directancestorsof the Hungarians and wished to
avoid a taintedheritage,so he claimed not to believe the storybased on
Orosius, who wrote that Filimer
anae nominantur,
Baiter
mulieres,
pluressecumin exercitu
quae olionomine
retrahentes
suodiciturdeduxisse.
infestissinuu,
Quae dumessentmilitibus
consilium
a
blandities
militari,
regisipsasferturde
negotio
plurimos
per
exercitus
consortio
deserta,
Quae quidempervagantesper
expulisse.
eapropter
mansissent
descenderunt.
tandem
Ibiquediutiusdum
litorapaludisMeotidae
concubuisse
cum
ad ipsasvenientes
privataesolatiomaritali,incubidemones

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Atli's Mother the Snake

483

Ex qua quidemconiunctione
dixit
ipsisiuxta dictumOrosiireferuntur.
(141)
Hungarosoriundos.
(is said to havebroughtwithhimin his armymanywomen,who were
also calledbythenameofBalternae.Theyweredangerousto thearmy,
for by theircaressestheyinducedmanysoldiersto withdrawfrom
so the king is said to have expelledthem fromthe army.
fighting,
Wanderingin the desert,theyfinallycame upon the shore of the
Maeoticswamp.Orosiussaysthatwhiletheystayedtherea long time,
demonscameand laywiththem.He says
deprivedofmaritalcomfort,
theHungariansarosefromthisunion.)

de Thurocz,
about1486,changedthedemonsto
Johannes
writing
and
the
made
women
sorceresses.
pagandemigods
Claimingas his
sourceAntonine,
of
who
had
claimed
to follow
Florence,
archbishop
and
Thurocz
that
Antonine
that
when
Filimer
Vincent,
Sigilbert
says
says
entered
thelandofScythia
withhispeople,
aUrumnas
quasdammagasmulieres
inpopulo
reperisset,
quassermone
Gethyco
de mediosui perturbasset,
vocassent,
casquehabenssuspectas
longequeab
exercitu
suofugatasin solitudine
errare. Quas tandemsilvestres
coegisset
homines,
vocant,quodgenusquondamsancto
quosnonnuUi
faunossicarios
obviasselegitur,cum
Anthonio,dum heremipervagabatur
solitudinem,
in
devia
errare
illarum
etcoitum
se
vidissent,
desertiper
amplexus
pariterque
comiscuissent.
etterribile
bominum
Exhincque
hocferocissimum
acpavendum
(21)
genusedidissent.
(he foundsomesorceresses
livingamongthepeoplethere,womenwho
are called in Gothic"alirumnae,"and because he suspectedthemhe
drovethemfromthemidstofthepeople,forcingthemto fleefaraway
fromhisarmyandto wanderinthedesert.And somemenoftheforest,
whomsome call"murderousfauns'3[faunos
sicarios](a racewhich,it is
said,once encounteredSt. Anthonyas he wanderedin thedesertas a
hermit),when theysaw thesewomen wanderingthe bywaysof the
desert,threwthemselvesinto theirembracesand had relationswith
them.Fromthiscamea fierce,dreadfuland terrible
raceofmen.)
Callimachus Experiens,writingbetween 1486 and 1489, repeatedthe
but
legend, referringto "consecrated women" and ccfaunsand satyrs55
claimed more objectivity:
Gothorum
sedrerum
ScribuntpleriqueFUmirum
regem,
antiquarumperitiores
memoriae
Idantirsum
exercitu
lustrato
proditum
reliquere
nonnullasfeminas
aliarumspeciem
(alinurnasScythae
vocant)ultracommunem
corpore
atque
indoleaugustasScytharum
castrisexclusisse
casquesubindein solitudine

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484

Scandinavian Studies
transMaeotideminAsia agitantes
a Fauniset Satyriscompressas
Hunnos
genuisse.(1)

thatFilimer,
topurify
hisarmy,
excluded
(Somewrite
kingoftheGoths,
fromhiscampsomeconsecrated
women(theScythians
call
Scythian
them"alinurnas")
whowereabovenormalin beautyandability,
and
thatthesewomen,
aboutinAsiabeyond
wereraped
Maeotis,
wandering
andsatyrs
andgavebirth
totheHuns.Butthosewhoaremore
byfauns
familiar
withtheseancientthingsrecallthatthiswas done not by
butbyIdantirsus.)
Filimer,
If such a legendwas commonlyknownin themiddleages,it is no
wonderthatstoriesaboutthemagicpowersofAtli'sfamily
sprangup. It
seem
odd
that
in
the
Norse
stories
are
attributed
to his
may
magicpowers
butapartfromthefactthatwitchcraft
motherratherthanto hisfather,
withwomen,thismaybe becauseotherlegends
is associatedprimarily
I havediscussedelsewherethe
wereassociatedwithhispaternalancestry.
canine
that
Atli
was
descended
from
ancestorson hisfather's
side
legend
(McMahon).
The evidenceshowsthatin thisfamilyonlythewomenhad magic
powers.Whateverthesourceofthosepowers,it was muchmorecommonforwomento havethemthanmen.We can go all thewaybackto
Tacitusforconfirmation.
Speakingof the role of women among the
Germansin chapter8 ofhis Germania,he wrote:
inessequin ctiamsanctumaliquid et providum
putantynee aut consilia
aut responsa
earumaspemantur
(Hutton274, 276)
neglegunt.
(Further
theyconceivethatinwomanis a certainuncannyandprophetic
sense; theyneitherscornto consultthem nor slighttheiranswers.
[Hutton277]).
In chapter7 oiYnglinga,saga, SnorrireportsthatOdin possessed the
magic called seidr:
en afpvi mdttihann vita drlqgmanna ok dordnahluti,svd ok at gem
ebavanheilendi,
svdolat takafrdmgnnum
vit
banaebadhamingju
monnum
ebaaflokgefaobrum.(J6nsson,
1,
Heimskringla 19)
(and bymeansof it he could knowthefateof men and predictevents
thathad not yetcome to pass; and byit he could also inflictdeathor
or also deprivepeopleoftheirwitsor strength,
or sickness,
misfortunes
and givethemto others.[Hollander11])
But Snorri continues:

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Atli's Mother the Snake

485

mikilergi,at eigipdtti
karlmgnnum
EnpessijJQlkyngi,
crframiS
er,jy1gfirspd
skammlaust
kendsu iprdtt.
viSatfara, okvargybjunum
(J6nssonI, 19)
The interpretationof this passage depends on several ambiguous
words. Hollander translatesit :
But thissorcery
is attendedbysuchwickedness
thatmanlymenconsideredit shamefulto practiceit,and so it was taughtto priestesses,
(11)
while Sorensen offersa translationin context,attemptingto explain the
concept of ergi:
in sexualmatters"is one branchof meaningin the ergi"Perversity
Here we haveto do witha
complex.Anotheris "versedin witchcraft."
derivative
ofthebasicsensementionedabove [ina discussionoftheroot
included(as faras we
argr].The practiceofheathenwitchcraft,
sorcery,
can see) sexualactivities
and taboo-breaking;
amongotherthings,men
appearedas women.A remarkin theopeningchaptersofHeitnskringla,
where<5dinnis said to have practicedsorcery,runsas follows:"And
whenthissorcerytakesplace,it is accompaniedby so much ergithat
mencould not be associatedwithit withoutdisgrace,and thatis why
thisartappertains
to thegoddesses."Witchcraft
was ofcourseforbidden
intheChristian
MiddleAges,anditis notsurprising
thatthepracticeof
and sexualperversion
couldbe takenas one and thesamething.
sorcery
(19)
Gydjunumcan be translatedas either "goddesses" or "priestesses";
eithertranslation,coupled with the idea thatit was shamefulformen to
practicethiskind of magic, indicatesthatexceptforOdin, whose masculinitywas secure,itwas practicedbywomen, eithergoddesses or humans
with special powers. In our contextit seems clear thattherewas a class of
women who had magic powers unavailable to normal men, and that
these women were regarded with respect. In fact,everythingwe know
about Germanic culturetellsus thatthe women who had magic powers
were indeed fearedand honored.
The familyof Atli is unusual in many ways, one of which is that they
all seem to have some sort of magic powers. His mother is a shapechanger,able to turninto a snake,or at least to make othersthinkshe has
done so; of his sisters,Brynhildis a valkyrie,Oddrun a midwife with
knowledge of charms and runes to aid in difficultbirths,and Bekkhild
possibly a weaver, able to influencethe fatesof others. This familytrait
combines two well-attestedtraditions: that some women in Germanic

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486

Scandinavian Studies

societyhadmagicpowers,andthatAtli,likealltheHuns,was descended
fromfemalesorcerers.
in
People listeningto thestoryof Gunnar'sdeathhad no difficulty
thatAtli'smothercould turnintoa snakeand
acceptingthepossibility
commita murder.TheyknewfromotherstoriesthatGunnarhad been
killedbya snakeatAtli'sinstigation,
andtheideathatthesnakewas really
Atli's motherdid not straintheircredulity,
since the associationof
and
Atli's
female
withmagicpowerswas
women,
relatives,
especially
well established.The authorof the OMrunargratrintroducedAtli's
motherto providea deliciouslittleextrashiverofhorrorforhisaudience.

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