Odin Hangs Himself
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- Опубліковано 15 жов 2019
- A closer look at the text of Hávamál 138-139, the sole medieval source for the tale of the god Óðinn [Odin] hanging himself in sacrifice to himself.
Jackson Crawford, Ph.D.: Sharing real expertise in Norse language and myth with people hungry to learn, free of both ivory tower elitism and the agendas of self-appointed gurus. Visit JacksonWCrawford.com (includes bio and linked list of all videos).
Jackson Crawford’s translation of Hávamál, with complete Old Norse text: www.hackettpublishing.com/the...
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The minor error in the citation of Fjǫlsvinnsmál in 'The Wanderer's Hávamál,' alluded to at 6:02 in the video, is corrected in the second printing of 'The Wanderer's Hávamál' (Jan. 2020) and subsequent printings.
Did you just time that squirrel to the mouth harp? LOL you madman
00:34
OMG 😭😂 thank you for pointing this out four years ago, I legit laughed so hard
Odin’s... a pretty intense fellow
A strange and mysterious one
Chicoms indeed. Infinite knowledge sounds cool and all, but I don’t know if I’d hang myself for it.
@@theannouncer5538 You already did..
At birth
@@theannouncer5538Even stranger on how Óðinn achieved that knowledge. He had to somehow obtain infinite wisdom, and Mímir, the guardian of the well of wisdom, or Mímisbrunnr, was the key. Mímir required a great sacrifice from Óðinn, the sacrifice was one of his eyes. Óðinn drank from Mímisbrunnr and obtained the widosm he sought after. Later on, Mímir was decapitated by the Vanir during the Æsir-Vanir war and the head was sent back to the Æsir. Óðinn preserved the head with herbs and used it as an oracle, seeking counsel on matters even outside of Óðinn's underatanding.
If you hadn't chosen the path of an old norse scholar, you could've been a nature photographer or something. The falling snow especially is so beautiful.
Fantastic academic level content available on youtube with beautiful background scenery and a quirky cowboy tone? I don't think I've heard anyone quite speak my language like you do, Dr. Crawford. Grew up in West Texas and studied Latin and Classics at UT Austin. You've got one more subscriber out of me!
I found your comment about Yggdrasil perhaps referring to Sleipnir to be really interesting.
Both could be considered a "vehicle" of sorts, depending on the context and intention.
In Tengrism their shaman climb physical trees to climb the world tree, and they have an internal aspect called Wind Horse. And they have to strengthen Wind Horse, through certain types of action, to travel the tree.
And what does that mean about Loki's connection to the World Tree? Lots to think about!
@@theFameWolf The story might be older than the Norse languages and there might be a play on words. Drasil resembles words like "tree", English and δρῦς (drûs, “tree, oak”), Greek. If the tale is from Proto Indo European times, then a resemblance to Tengrism seems plausible. (A saddle's wooden frame is commonly called it's tree ... )
Sleipnir is a suggestion that might have legs.
I find that one of the great things about Norse Mythology and its poems is that we’re still not certain on what everything means and what the context or intention behind it is.
It makes for really fun mysteries and speculation. And that creates a really nice non-dogmatic atmosphere in the community where everyone shares their ideas.
it creates an atmosphere of "relevance until today", of old wisdom yet to be understood. a work in progress
@@sonnenhafen5499 Well said
Though lots of people do take it very literally
Wow. So it's actually possible that the famous Norse tree of legend was never named Yggdrasil! That kind of blew my mind.
It's disturbing how many unprofessional renditions of this story state boldly and unequivocally that Odin hangs himself from Yggdrasil, when that isn't explicitly stated in the source material. I particularly liked the discussion about Yggdrasil and Sleipnir, I've never heard that theory before.
It is interesting, isn't it?
Sounds a lot like a shamanic vision quest or ordeal vision/hallucination.
Oooh that's another awesome way to look at it!
I've always inferred this tale of Odinn sacrificing himself to obtain the runes a bit differently. I think(just my opinion) that in the beginning, the runes weren't available to the inhabitants of Midgard or the gods of Asgard. Perhaps Odinn, in order to bring the knowledge of runes into the realms of the gods and men, he had to sacrifice himself to the supreme being of our realms, himself. When he did this he opened a gateway through his own mind in which the runes were able to spill out. Through pain and blood and tears and horror, the fact that knowledge was more important to him than his own body. All of this combined, being performed by an entity of his stature, could not be ignored by the very fabric of reality and therefore was forced to divulge it's contents. Awesome narrative anyway ☠️
What do you think the runes do? In other Jason videos, he just says the runes are an alphabet with no magic. This seems to contradict his version.
7:30 literally gallows humour haha, amazing
The Norse were masters of word play, and riddle making using euphemisms to describe everyday objects and natural events. To give a thing of death its proper name though, is to give it power; because names have power. No need to go bringing about ill fortune through lack of care.
I find it interesting that the native religion of the Steppe (Mongolians, Turks, Etc), their Shaman must strengthen their Wind Horse. An internal aspect of the soul.
They use Wind Horse to traverse the world tree, and climb actual trees to do it.
I wonder if there's a cultural root, or exchange of traditions. We know they interacted, and Gok Turk looks very aesthetically like Futhark Runes.
this is the first time an intersticial ad (Grimfrost) actually makes the video BETTER :)))
Any chance in the future you could go into the etymology of those other tree names - Laeradr and mimameidr? It is was intriguing seeing you break down how Yggdrasil may in fact be Sleipnir and then you mentioned the other trees, but didn't give the meaning for those names.
Maybe, just maybe one could interpret the myth like this:
Askr Yggdrasil, indeed means something like ”the man of the terrifying horse” and refers to Odin. But the fact that it also refers to the World Tree is not because of some kind of historical misunderstanding but is quite deliberate. Odin hangs himself to himself and he hangs himself in Yggdrasil. Maybe Yggdrasil is an other symbol of Odin or another higher aspect of him. Odin IS thus Yggsrasil in some sence and the tree is ALSO his horse, (it carries him). Yggdrasil itself is the entirety of the world.
That Odin can be multiple persons at the same time is known from other sources. He is thus both ”Hár, Jafnhár and Þriði” in Gylfaginning and he is known as both Tveggi (“the one who is two”) and Þriggi (“the one who is three”) etc.
Odin then is the Godman, both immanent and transcendent, both priest/shaman and the World Spirit itself, both the one who seeks knowledge and the source of knowledge.
Pretty deep and mere speculation off course.
i like the way you're thinking
I'm always up for a pandeistic interpretation of pagan myth.
Alrik Tyrving wouldn’t it be so that Odins sacrifice of his eye for knowledge, that could be talen ad symbology for the process of soul awakening. Where one begins trapped by Ego, then by sacrificing what is left (in spirit) we are given our own divine spirit knowledge. In the end emerging with the wisdom we had been searching for
...thoughts?
Luxus LeoCor Interesting thought. Could very well be. Odins sacrifice of his eye in Mimis brunnr (the well of the one who remembers) may have something to to with inner gaze, the inner eye or the third eye that sees inwards into the depths of Mind. Whatever the sacrifize entails, Odin still retains that other eye though, which perceives the outer world.
One must remember though that the Norse peoples had a quite tragic perception of reality and that Odin also is a god of Death and Strife. ”War is the father of all things” said Heraclitus, and Odin is indeed the Allfather.
I always though Odin was hanged like on a gallows - rope around his neck. But now I wonder if the correct image possibly is Odin pinned to the tree by a spear through his body.
My impression is that it’s both at once.
I definitely favour the noose idea because of the Indo-European theme of threefold death(Hanging, piercing/burning and drowning) thats very common in Northern Europe
I believe that Adam of Bremen reports human sacrifice to Odin by hanging by the neck at the Norse temple at Upsalla (though I would need to confirm that)
I've always found the similarities between Odin and the Celtic god Lugh interesting. They both wield Spears and are associated with Ravens. They both are part of a group of three, (Odin and his two brothers, and apparently there are three Lughs according to most Irish sources.) And they both use magic, specifically they both ressurrect dead warriors.
Odin also has some similarities to The Morrigan.
@@peterknutsen3070 Anand, Badb, and Nemain are similar in some ways, but they're actually much, much more bloodthirsty than Odin.
I like these ads you stick in. They're nice and short, and actually a bit interesting.
Fascinating!
I downloaded the Völsunga saga on Audible with narration from Jackson Crawford. I highly recommend this book.
The snowy mountain stream background looks absolutely beautiful and the water sounds so calming 😊. However, I'm not looking forward to the Colorado winter coming to the Springs just yet 🥶
Or it could just be a sly way of saying gallows. What horse would be more terrifying to ride than the hanging tree? The backstory would be amazing to know, though.
Thank you. This was very informative. I have been very curious about this and I think yours is the most educated and objective opinion I’ve heard on it so far.
I usually don't comment, but I just have to thank you for your awesome and informative videos. I am a student but one of my favorite topics is Norse Mythology. And you provide those great videos to a amateur and layman that just looks at them as a hobby, I really have to thank you. Bought your book (Edda) a while ago and love it. You as a person seem very much like a role model, at least for me: your neutrality on certain topics, your clear mind (you really think about what you say) and just your overall appearance. Now enough of this, but I have to say I envy you and the place your living(?) in (looks astonishing). Keep on going and greetings from germany.
Du gjør meg stolt av være norsk, dr Crawford !
Utrolig spennende å lære om Håvamål ✨🤠
This is by far my favorite video yet. You are a credit to your vocation, sir.
really enjoy the tune at the end with that beautiful scene. Thank you.
I loved it. Ever since i read about this it's been stuck in my head. It's a mistery full of awe.
Can’t wait for the release of your book. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Cheers
Thank you, Dr. Crawford.
Academically - you, your books, and this page are killing it and you have my deepest gratitude and sincere appreciation for the work you have provided all of us. But my real question is, are you a more country or a more western type of guy?
Thank you for this channel. Profoundly academic and knowledgeable
Can't wait to get the wanderers hávamál. Also ordered your translation of the poetic edda, should be comming in any day now:)
Incredible scenery and content. Thank you.
Always good to see new and updated interpretations based on the existing material. That way things don't become dogma.
12:16 Sometimes it feels like that's the price I'll have to pay to pay back my student loans 😩
Thank you, I am a medieval schollar about to pursue my Dr. I loved the video and we need more like it
Thank you for your effort as always Dr. Crawford. Great discussion. I'll be visiting beautiful Colorado in january.
loved this video!
I am now a subsciber. Thanks for your work.
You should consider making these videos available as podcasts (audio only), would make traveling much more interesting
Though not quite related, I couldn't help but think of Odysseus resisting the sirens song. It makes me think of this frequent theme of physical restraint when it comes to knowledge - Prometheus and Jesus releasing knowledge, Odin for knowledge, and Odysseus to resist knowledge.
very interesting
awesome video, my man. always great to see my home state caught on camera
Brilliant, informative and, yes, objective - as always, Dr Crawford! Objectivity aside, however, I would be interested in finding out what makes this particular passage from Hávamál one of the most hauntingly appealing snippets of ALL literature to a surprisingly large number of people - including me.
I always took this as a sage fasting for days, peering into the ether, searching for wisdom.
Super perfect weather in this one. I can nearly smell it. Another couple of parallel stories are the Irish Salmon of Wisdom that got the chestnut of Wisdom that dropped from The Tree of Wisdom. When the Salmon was cooked, a blister formed beneath the skin, and the man cooking it reached out to pop it, got burned, stuck the burned finger in his mouth, and through that pain, got the Wisdom of the word. And, of course, the man that got the wisdom had been warned not to eat the fish. Then, in North American Iroquois, the story of how they were given The Law of Peace is more similar to Odin. Tekanawita, a stranger of uncertain parentage appeared when people were terrorized by a cannibal dictator and said he had a message to help the people. They told him to prove he was who he said he was. So, they hung him on a tree, chopped it down where it fell into the river. A few days later they found him alive and believed him. To fall down and get roots or runes, would be to be as a seed. I don't know much, here, but perhaps, the horse is a river, or water. Anyway, this pattern in myth has always been one of my favorite to think about. Thank you.
I cant wait to pick up a copy of the wanderers havamal
Great vid. Love the landscapes and your pronounced translations. Are you planning presentation from Scandinavia?
It sounds like these stanzas were the inspiration for the song ‘Yggdrasil’ by the Norwegian black metal band Enslaved. From the song;
Eg veit at eg hekk
på vindalt tre
netter heile nie
med geir - odd sàra
Og gjeven Odin
gjeven sjølv til meg sjølv
oppå det treet
som ingen veit
Kvar det av rotom renn
It’s a phenomenally powerful song. Have a listen!
Inspiration? It’s a translation from the Old Norse into Nynorsk, essentially.
Perhaps it contains a cultural/mythic memory of a druidic ritual practice by a priest/shaman class. Odin's learning the runes may hold a cultural memory of when that class became literate, which to them would have seemed as magic symbols. Which all writing is indeed potent, containing wisdom for those that know how to read. Perhaps some ritual physical trail of pain was needed to be completed towards some initiation to the mystreries. The end being knowledge and wisdom gained by knowing how to read the runes. I enjoy your videos, thank you.
I really enjoy your videos! Pre-ordered on kindle 😁👍
Looking forward to your new book! Definitely going to have to buy that one. On an unrelated note, could you do a video on the Kingittorsuaq stone and norse greenlandic.
I liked that you mentioned some books where points come from like lieberman's book. Something to put on my reading list!
Nine worlds of Yggdrasil and 8 legs of Sleipner - a foot in every world with the rider (at his current location) being in the ninth? Would make for a swift steed indeed...
But, his feet don't reach the ground; he's hanging from the tree.
The exception to the idea of Ash is that it is not an evergreen, and gardeners the world round don't plant Norwegian Ash.
Any chance you could make a video about older Swedish mediaeval runes? Those from around 1300-1600 that were used alongside Latin?
John McKinnell's article "Wisdom from the Dead" (also available in his book *Meeting the Other in Norse Myth and Legend* as "Wisdom from Dead Relatives") has some interesting commentary on this section and its meaning.
Great video
Oooo scenery😍
I interpreted it that the last line referred to the roots of yggdrasil, as in "he was hanged on a tree where the roots of yggdrasil grow"
Thanks!
I think I know now what Odin whispered in Baldr's ear: Why had to hang himself to attain the runes.
Also, in context with the rest of Hávamál, the moral of the story seems to be that a sacrifice of one self is not to big a sacrifice.
Odin whispered Baldr's ear the shopping list in case Baldr would pop round the shops later that day.
I think the Nine Herbs Charm in Old English also references this.
"A worm came crawling, it killed nothing. For Woden took nine glory-twigs, he smote the the adder that it flew apart into nine parts. There the Apple accomplished it against poison that she [the loathsome serpent] would never dwell in the house. Chervil and Fennell, two of much might, They were created by the wise Lord, holy in heaven as He hung; He set and sent them to the seven worlds,to the wretched and the fortunate, as a help to all."
I've seen the "Glory Twigs" associated with runes, perhaps they were twigs of Yggdrasil (or Eormensýl, as the Anglo-Saxons would have called it) and (W)Odin hanging himself was the price for the tree to give up the twigs that became the runes.
Last years snow wasn't quite melted and now you've got new snow. Gotta love the Rockies.
This may be one of the most interesting videos you have done. I really really enjoy these deep dives into possible ways things have been interrupted, as you mentioned with "Yggdrasils askr"
Do you believe Odin hanged himself in the manner that we think around the neck("romanticised"?) or do you believe that he was strapped with ropes hanging around the trunk or branches?
The title and thumbnail together are pretty funny
Hey man, I live in Colorado too. Some great snow we’re getting, eh?
Did I just see a damn ad mid way through?....I'll be goin to grimfrost now.
I once stumbled over the speculating assumption that Sleipnir with its eight legs may be four men who carry a wooden coffin (or a litter). This would be a shamanic horse par excellence. What do You think about that?
THANK YOU! !!!!!!
And thank you for the Wonderful vistas you share in every video! :-)
very interesting
The first man “Ash” from the tree of life. and woman “Embela”. Makes sense to refer to man as Ashr
Yup.
Oooh this was super interesting and thought provoking. I wonder if this is related to Christianity's fable of Satan giving Adam and Eve fruit from the tree of knowledge? Because written language could be considered the gift of knowledge, as before written language we only had oral history, which can be very limited and inaccurate.
I want to know where I can get that jacket
gotta get at least a masters for Tweed that fine!
The hanged man card in tarot pops into my head
I've seen that reference before, too. It was not academic circles though, so don't get me wrong.
Hi Prof. Crawford, I have a question: There seems to be a strong Christian theme on Rúnatal, with Odin sacrificing himself to himself on a tree and being pierced by a spear. Could it be possible that the Rúnatal was a Christianized poem of Odin written by monks who wanted to convert Vikings to Christianity, much like a short fan-fiction? Hávamál was composed before 12th century, and we can speculate that it would not have been composed too long before that (not a thousand years probably) and also the merging of Christian and Pagan cultures were common in the medieval age, so this is not impossible to happen.
As to the myth of Odin's acquisition of the runes, maybe we need to look to the fact that the runic alphabet is clearly a derivation of the Phoenecian alphabet either directly from the Phoenecians or through the Greeks, Etruscans or maybe even the Celts of Spain.
Are there myths from other cultures, Indoeuropean or otherwise concerning the adoption of alphabets based on the Phoenician script or perhaps even cuneiform?
Illuminating
Sounds like a type of meditation and fast where he gained some occultic information by utilizing the 9 dimensions of the universe. 9 does represent completion so it could be about the spirit going through the 9 dimensions and gaining knowledge from it.
This is honestly revolutionary thinking in an all too often conservative field of study
Sacrificed himself to himself, you say.
@ŇøHă Ģ. I think that's a bit far fetched, to be honest.
@@ShortArmOfGod Reincarnating.
Is there any chance it could’ve originally been Yggsdrasill but over time drifted to Yggdrasil
about similarities: Didnt jahve sacrifice himself to himself by sending Jesus, since Jesus is God? I think there is a paralell there. nothing to do with runes though, but the concept seems to be the same
Really looking forward to that Hávamál! Will be bought instantly! Love translations with original text.😎
Thanks!
Hello Jackson, I have a question regarding Yggdrasil. If it does mean "terrifying horse" and refers to Sleipnir, why is it clearly a tree in Voluspa 19?
The summer isn’t that long at your place now, is it?
Interesting, and I look forward to reading Havamal. I'd heard (through the grapevine?) that the Tarot card 'the Hanged Man' refers to the Odinn hanging himself as a bargain to receive the runeknowledge, and that he hung from one leg, lost use of one arm and one eye to achieve it. Where did this story come from? No idea, but it sort of correlates with your thoughtful interpretation, so I thought I'd mention it. I suspect the idea of self-sacrifice for the greater good is an old one, and a good unifier for people.
I'm not sure where that specific interpretation comes from, although one point might be that we don't have anything in the medieval sources about Odin losing use of an arm-- Týr has a story where he loses his hand, and people have often attempted to equate those two in the past (Dr. Crawford actually has a video on it here: ua-cam.com/video/387cIw-Hf6k/v-deo.html ). The tarot motif seems to actually be very similar to the "pittura infamante" motif popular in Italy around the same time as tarot decks were beginning to be produced in the area. That all said, I don't think it'd be impossible to interpret the card with reference to Odin-- I just wouldn't be able to go as far as saying there's direct evidence/a story or a link to the Norse medieval sources.
@@stellanathaniel3198 Well said, Stella, and thanks for your info!
Prometheus is definitely more like a “chained within a stony place” type character to me, akin to Loki and his earthquakes or Volundr from Norse myth. Although I’m still working on how far this trope goes, and what other PIE myths it intersects with, like Icarus and Daedalus or Bladud. It may intersect with some underworld gods, as in the case of Loki’s association with underworld god themes.
If one buys into the idea of Lodur and Loki being the same the Prometheus parallel takes on a whole different dimension.
The tree could be Glasir as well, although that's also thought to be a by some.
That was great. But - it would be really good for us non-Old Norse speakers if you could go through the whole poem in translation in one go at some point. Breaking it down line by line is great for dissecting the meaning of specific words or phrases, but means that at the end, I have no real idea of the whole poem. After watching, I could not really tell you what actually happened in this poem. Thanks 🙏
In which country are you fliming this? The landscapes are beautiful.
I’m not sure but if I had to give a really good guess it would probably be Western US
@@jacksonh7009 it really might be Western US since I doubt he lives in Sweden or Norway but it could be Canada as well.
It seems to me that this is a sort of allegorial tale about how you need to make sacrifices to learn something or to gain something. By investing your time and energy in learning something valuable and down prioritizing something else for a while, perhaps even personal comfort, in a sense, you sacrifice yourself to yourself. Take reading for instance, could be runes. It takes hard work. The fact that it takes effort and the proverbial blood sweat and tears to learn any skill worth learning would ofcourse have been clear to the vikings as it would to people before and after.
What's the outro music?
🔥🔥🔥
So Odin may have hung himself from himself as a sacrifice to himself? Sounds familiar.
13:15.... im still sat here wondering what odin said in baldur's ear..
I am not a norse language scholar, but do we know hung unequivocally meant by the neck? We hang things to walls. Could it have meant "affixed". It makes it slightly less improbable that he died.
Is there somewhere to actually buy copies of the sagas? I'm new to this but want to read them and have no idea where to start
There are! Just to avoid possible confusion, the Hávamál actually isn't in a saga; it's going to be in the Poetic Edda-- Dr. Crawford actually has an older video explaining what medieval sources are out there and what's in them here, if that's helpful/needed: ua-cam.com/video/h_l33RAAjrg/v-deo.html
With that said, Dr. Crawford also has an entire video of Norse book recommendations, which has his recommended translations of the Eddas, sagas, and other resources, along with more recs in the pinned comment, so that should be exactly what you're looking for: ua-cam.com/video/PklFEVv_drk/v-deo.html (Pretty much everything in there is available at Amazon or your local bookseller-- if you are looking for sagas specifically, "The Sagas of Icelanders" and "Seven Viking Romances" published by Penguin Books should have most of the major/most referenced ones).
@@stellanathaniel3198 thank you so much! I'm working on a game that involves a Viking character I created so I'd like to be close to the source material. Again, I appreciate the help!