As my
first post, I thought it would be useful to explain a bit about the name of
this blog.
In the
Germanic myths, Mimir is a deity associated with otherworldly wisdom, who gives
council to Odin/Woden. Mimir, in the days of the war between the Vanir gods and
the Aesir gods, was beheaded. Woden, wishing to preserve Mimir’s knowledge,
sprinkled herbs and recited spells over the god’s head, and placed him at the
bottom of a well. This well was located at the root of the world tree Yggdrasil
in Jotunheim, land of the giants.
The
well in which Mimir resides has the power to grant vast amounts of knowledge to
whoever drinks of its waters. But all must pay a price to taste it. Even the
Allfather Woden himself had to sacrifice one of his eyes to drink from it. In
return, he gained knowledge of the universe few had.
Verse 28 of Lee M. Hollander’s translation of
the Eddaic poem Voluspá, or The Prophercy of the Seeress, states:
“Alone
she sat out when the lord of
gods,
Óthin
the old, her eye did
seek:
‘What seekest
to know, why summon me?
Well
know I, Ygg, where thy eye is
hidden:
In the
wondrous well of Mimir;
Each morn
Mimir his mead doth drink
Out of
Fjolnir’s pledge’”*
This theme of suffering and
receiving wisdom in return is a prominent theme in the stories of Woden. I will
likely return to this theme in a future post, when my thoughts are organized
enough to grant it the proper attention.
I chose
this name for the blog because I try to emulate Woden in my life. I do this for
many reasons that are too numerous to name here. But, I will say that Woden, by
his very nature, is a sufferer. But it is by this suffering that he obtains his
wisdom. Just like him, I seek the Well of Mimir so that I may obtain the
knowledge for the betterment of my own life.
The things I will write about in
this blog include, but are not limited to, literature and Germanic culture and
myth. Occasionally I will throw in a random musing here and there.
My next
post will be about the short story, The
Tower of the Elephant by Robert E. Howard.
*I understand the language in this verse can be confusing to the uninitiated. I will try to clarify a few things. This poem is being told by a seeress, hence the name. The poem is switched back and forth between being told from first to third person, which can make some things confusing. In the first line, "she sat out" is a reference to the seeress communing with various spirits of the dead to gain information. She then says that she knows Ygg (a name of Odin, meaning "the terrible one") has hidden his eyein the well of Mimir, where he drinks to obtain knowledge. Fjolnir is another name of Odin, meaning "the wise one" or "the concealer." Fjlonir's pledge is a skaldic term which refer's to Odin's sacrifice.
