Hey everyone, welcome to Mythology Explained.
In today’s video, we’re going to take a look at the Aesir-Vanir War,
the war that took place in the mythic past between the two tribes of gods in Norse mythology,
and following that, at how, ultimately, the Mead of Poetry, the mead that inspired
gods and the greatest of skalds, bestowing mastery over verse and song, was created.
Let’s get into it.
In Norse mythology, one of the major events that transpired in the mythic past was the
Aesir-Vanir war. Though the two tribes eventually reconciled, for a time, relations between the two
were beyond strained, defined by violence and rancour. Fierce fighting broke out as each tribe
tried to destroy the other. They fought to a draw, as neither side could gain a winning advantage,
allowing cooler heads to prevail before greater death and destruction could be dealt. Eventually,
tempers subsided, wounds were tended, and a peace was brokered through prisoner exchange.
Before we really dive into this, though, let’s take a quick pause
and do an overview of each tribe and highlight some of their differences.
The Aesir were the more prominent and popular tribe. They dwelt in Asgard,
one of the nine realms, and their number included gods like Odin, Thor, and Loki.
By comparison, the Vanir were obscure. They made their home on Vanaheim, another of the nine
realms. And beyond a handful of gods like Njord, Frejya and Freyr, not much is known about them.
More so than the Aesir, the Vanir were associated with the bounty and fertility of the earth. Also,
incest, which was forbidden amongst the Aesir, was common practice for the Vanir.
One day, a sorceress traversed the rainbow bridge, crossed into Asgard, and approached
the impregnable gates and towering walls of the Aesir fortress. She introduced herself as
Gullvieg, meaning “Lust for Gold. At first, the Aesir gods were apprehensive about letting
Gullveig into their midst, for the conventional wisdom was that those who practiced sorcery
weren’t the most reputable or trustworthy sort, having a penchant for mischief, trickery,
and sowing disorder. Despite this, Gullveig won them over with her charm and with her promises
of wealth and power. She was a master of Seidr, a feminine sort of magic, which she harnessed to
perform favours for various gods. However, as time went on, rather than improve lives, her magic was
a source of strife, not betterment. Gods were resentful of other gods that gained advantage
and prestige through Gullveig’s arts, thinking them obtained unfairly. A downward spiral ensued
in which the Aesir gods grew increasingly hostile and embittered towards each other, but before the
situation truly boiled over, they took counsel, coming to consensus about how to ameliorate
relations between each other. They concluded that Gullveig was wholly responsible for the acrimony
and animosity that now permeated their halls. It was decided that she must pay with her life,
so they tied her up, encircled her, and hurled spears at her from every direction.
Under normal circumstances, the volley of spears would have reduced the target
to a pulpy heap - irrevocably transformed and utterly unrecognisable - but events never proceed
in a tidy, normal way when magic is involved. Not a single spear tip pierced Gullveig’s flesh;
they merely bounced off of her and clattered to the ground. Following this failure,
the gods tried to burn the cursed sorceress, but flames were no more effective. While the
Aesir found little success in killing Gullveig, they were superlatively successful at inciting
the wrath of Gullveig’s kin, the Vanir gods. You see, while her true name isn’t used in the story,
Gullveig is widely considered to be none other than the goddess Freyja, so the
attempts on her life were taken as an egregious offence against the Vanir gods as a whole.
Each tribe assembled so that each of their forces were marshalled opposite each other
on a field of battle. At the onset, Odin hurled his spear over the Vanir forces,
symbolically sacrificing them to himself. Though the Aesir boasted greater warriors,
the Vanir were bolstered by Freyja’s magic. After many battles, it became clear that the
two tribes were evenly matched, so they entered into peace negotiations, which were concluded by
an exchange of hostages. Freyr, Freyja, and Njord went to live with the Aesir,
while Mimir and Hoenir were sent to live with the Vanir. The Aesir were pleased with their hostages,
formidable as they were, but the same could not be said of the Vanir,
who felt more and more as though they had been cheated as time went by. At first, Hoenir was
invaluable, dispensing sage advice, resolving all manner of quandary, but then he grew indecisive,
deferring to others, becoming reticent. The Vanir failed to notice that Hoenir was no more than
a conduit for Mimir’s deep wisdom. When Mimir was around, Hoenir was wise, and when Mimir was
absent, Hoenir was uncertain and tight-lipped, as there was no one near to whisper in his ear.
Failing to notice where the wisdom was coming from, or that Hoenir was a great warrior,
just not the best adviser or leader, the Vanir expressed their displeasure by beheading Mimir
and sending his severed head to the Aesir. Odin, who knew full well the depth of Mimir’s wisdom,
heeding his counsel above all others, was beside himself. Bending all his skill and subtlety,
Odin called upon his magical arts. He embalmed Mimir’s head with herbs, reanimating it so that
he could still benefit from Mimir’s keen mind and clever tongue when his need was most dire.
Following this, rather than go to war again, all of the gods, both Aesir and Vanir, spat into a
cauldron. All the divine saliva coalesced into a man, Kvasir. Shaped by all the gods, he was
the wisest being in existence, and he stood as a living symbol of peace between the two tribes.
It was said that Kvasir was so wise that there wasn’t a question that could be asked that he
couldn’t answer. A nomadic, wayfaring life best suited him, as covering so much ground
and visiting so many places allowed him to confer the depths of his wisdom far and wide.
Unfortunately, it would be his wanderlust, the very danger of the roads he so loved to travel,
that would prove his undoing. Two dwarves, Fjalar and Galar, murdered him, exsanguinating kvasir
and mixing his blood with honey, then fermenting it in the kettle of Odrerir to create the Mead
of Poetry; and henceforth whoever drank from it was imbued with the verse weaving skills
possessed by the greatest skalds. The dwarf pair then inadvertently drowns a giant and
intentionally kills the giant’s wife by dropping a millstone on her head. The drowned giant’s son,
Suttung, comes looking for his deceased father, nearly snuffing out the life of the two dwarfs,
but relenting at the last moment when offered the mead of poetry as compensation for his father’s
death. Suttung places the mead inside a mountain and sets his daughter, Gunnlod, to guard it.
Of course, Odin wanted the mead for himself, so he travelled forth under the name Bolverk. He used
an auger to bore a hole into the mountain, then assumed the form of a snake to slither through
the hole to where the mead was kept under guard. Once inside, there was still Gunnlod to navigate,
so Odin brokered a deal with her: three nights of passion for three draughts of the
mead. After their lustful sojourn, he drained every last drop in just three deep quaffs,
subsequently transforming himself into an eagle and flying back to Asgard,
the mead sloshing inside him all the while. Suttung, dismayed at the sudden loss,
also takes the form of an Eagle and pursues the thief through the skies. Odin was nearly caught
at the last instant. A moment of panic caused a lapse in his clenching, so a small soiled portion
slipped out the bottom of him; and it was this portion that inspired lesser poets. The rest of
it Odin deposited in Asgard, sharing it with the other Gods and the great poets of old.
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