The Children of Odin - The Book of Northern Myths

Padraic Colum

Description

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Children of Odin, by Padraic ColumThis eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and withalmost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away orre-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License includedwith this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.orgTitle: The Children of OdinThe Book of Northern MythsAuthor: Padraic ColumIllustrator: Willy PoganyRelease Date: March 2, 2008 [EBook #24737]Language: English*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHILDREN OF ODIN ***Produced by Mark C. Orton, Geetu Melwani and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.netTHE CHILDREN OF ODINThe Book of Northern MythsBy Padraic ColumIllustrated by Willy PoganyMaster storyteller Padraic Colum's rich, musical voice captures all the magic and majesty of the Norsesagas in his retellings of the adventures of the gods and goddesses who lived in the Northern paradiseof Asgard before the dawn of history.Here are the matchless tales of All-Father Odin, who crosses the Rainbow Bridge to walk among menin Midgard and sacrifices his right eye to drink from the Well of Wisdom; of Thor, whose mightyhammer defends Asgard; of Loki, whose mischievous cunning leads him to treachery against thegods; of giants, dragons, dwarfs and Valkyries; and of the terrible last battle that destroyed their world.These ancient stories from Northern Europe, which make up one of the great myth cycles of ...

Informations

• Publié par: mover
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 27
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Children of Odin,
by Padraic Colum
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no
cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it,
give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg
License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: The Children of Odin
The Book of Northern Myths
Author: Padraic Colum
Illustrator: Willy Pogany
Release Date: March 2, 2008 [EBook #24737]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK
THE CHILDREN OF ODIN ***
Produced by Mark C. Orton, Geetu Melwani and the
OnlineOnline
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
THE CHILDREN OF ODIN
The Book of Northern
Myths
By Padraic Colum
Illustrated by Willy Pogany
Master storyteller Padraic Colum's rich, musical voice
captures all the magic and majesty of the Norse sagas
in his retellings of the adventures of the gods and
goddesses who lived in the Northern paradise of
Asgard before the dawn of history.
Here are the matchless tales of All-Father Odin, who
crosses the Rainbow Bridge to walk among men in
Midgard and sacrifices his right eye to drink from the
Well of Wisdom; of Thor, whose mighty hammer
defends Asgard; of Loki, whose mischievous cunning
leads him to treachery against the gods; of giants,
dragons, dwarfs and Valkyries; and of the terrible last
battle that destroyed their world.These ancient stories from Northern Europe, which
make up one of the great myth cycles of Western
civilization, spring to life in The Children of Odin. This
classic volume, first published in 1920 and reissued in
1962, is now available for the first time in paperback,
illustrated with the original line drawings by Willy
Pogany, to inspire a new generation of readers.
The late Padraic Colum was a poet, playwright,
founder of the Irish Review and a leader of the Irish
Renaissance, but he is perhaps best known today for
his outstanding books for children. He was awarded
the Regina Medal in 1961 for his "distinguished
contribution to children's literature," honoring works
like The Children's Homer, The Golden Fleece (a
Newbery Honor Book), The Arabian Nights, The King
of Ireland's Son and Roofs of Gold.
THE CHILDREN OF ODIN
The Book of Northern Myths
by
PADRAIC COLUM
illustrated by
Willy Pogany
Collier BooksMacmillan Publishing Company
New York
Collier Macmillan Publishers
London
Copyright Macmillan Publishing Company, a division of
Macmillan, Inc., 1920; copyright renewed by Padraic
Colum and Macmillan Publishing Company 1948
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording or by any information storage
and retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the Publisher.
Macmillan Publishing Company
866 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022
Collier Macmillan Canada, Inc.
The Children of Odin is also published in a hardcover
edition by Macmillan Publishing Company.
First Collier Books edition 1984
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Colum, Padraic, 1881-1972.
The children of Odin.
Summary: A retelling of the Norse sagas about Odin,
Freya, Thor, Loki and the other gods and goddesseswho lived in Asgard before the dawn of history.
1. Mythology, Norse—Juvenile literature.
[1. Mythology, Norse] I. Pogany, Willy, 1882-1955, ill.
II. Title.
BL860.C63 1984b 293'.13 83-20368
ISBN 0-02-042100-1 (pbk.: alk. paper)
CONTENTS
Pa
ge
PART I The Dwellers in Asgard
1
Far Away and Long Ago 3
.
2
The Building of the Wall 6
.
3 Iduna and Her Apples: How Loki Put the Gods i
13
. n Danger
4 Sif's Golden Hair: How Loki Wrought Mischief in
27
. Asgard
5
How Brock Brought Judgment on Loki 34
.
6 How Freya Gained Her Necklace and How Her
44
. Loved One Was Lost to Her
7 How Frey Won Gerda, the Giant Maiden, and H
51
. ow He Lost His Magic Sword
8 Heimdall and Little Hnossa: How All Things Cam
62
. e to Be
9 The All-Father's Forebodings: How He Leaves A
6969
. sgard
PART II Odin the Wanderer
1 Odin Goes to Mimir's Well: His Sacrifice for Wis
77
. dom
2
Odin Faces an Evil Man 82
.
3
Odin Wins for Men the Magic Mead 90
.
4 Odin Tells to Vidar, His Silent Son, the Secret of
99
. His Doings
5 10
Thor and Loki in the Giants' City
. 2
6 11
How Thor and Loki Befooled Thrym the Giant
. 6
7 12
Ægir's Feast: How Thor Triumphed
. 4
8 The Dwarf's Hoard, and the Curse that It Broug 13
. ht 6
PART III The Witch's Heart
1 15
Foreboding in Asgard
. 1
2 15
Loki the Betrayer
. 5
3 16
Loki Against the Æsir
. 4
4 16
The Valkyrie
. 9
5 17
The Children of Loki
. 4
6 18
Baldur's DoomBaldur's Doom
. 0
7 19
Loki's Punishment
. 3
PART IV The Sword of the Volsungs and the Twi
light of the Gods
1 19
Sigurd's Youth
. 9
2 20
The Sword Gram and the Dragon Fafnir
. 8
3 21
The Dragon's Blood
. 5
4 22
The Story of Sigmund and Signy
. 3
5 23
The Story of Sigmund and Sinfiotli
. 3
6 The Story of the Vengeance of the Volsungs an 23
. d of the Death of Sinfiotli 9
7 24
Brynhild in the House of Flame
. 5
8 25
Sigurd at the House of the Nibelungs
. 0
9 25
How Brynhild Was Won for Gunnar
. 5
1
26
0 The Death of Sigurd
0
.
1
26
1 The Twilight of the Gods
5
.PART I
THE DWELLERS IN
ASGARD
FAR AWAY AND LONG AGO
Once there was another Sun and another Moon; a
different Sun and a different Moon from the ones we
see now. Sol was the name of that Sun and Mani was
the name of that Moon. But always behind Sol and
Mani wolves went, a wolf behind each. The wolves
caught on them at last and they devoured Sol and
Mani. And then the world was in darkness and cold.
In those times the Gods lived, Odin and Thor, Hödur
and Baldur, Tyr and Heimdall, Vidar and Vali, as well
as Loki, the doer of good and the doer of evil. And the
beautiful Goddesses were living then, Frigga, Freya,
Nanna, Iduna, and Sif. But in the days when the Sun
and Moon were destroyed the Gods were destroyed
too—all the Gods except Baldur who had died before
that time, Vidar and Vali, the sons of Odin, and Modi
and Magni, the sons of Thor.
At that time, too, there were men and women in the
world. But before the Sun and the Moon were
devoured and before the Gods were destroyed,
terrible things happened in the world. Snow fell on the
four corners of the earth and kept on falling for threeseasons. Winds came and blew everything away. And
the people of the world who had lived on in spite of the
snow and the cold and the winds fought each other,
brother killing brother, until all the people were
destroyed.
Also there was another earth at that time, an earth
green and beautiful. But the terrible winds that blew
leveled down forests and hills and dwellings. Then fire
came and burnt the earth. There was darkness, for
the Sun and the Moon were devoured. The Gods had
met with their doom. And the time in which all these
things happened was called Ragnarök, the Twilight of
the Gods.
Then a new Sun and a new Moon appeared and went
traveling through the heavens; they were more lovely
than Sol and Mani, and no wolves followed behind
them in chase. The earth became green and beautiful
again, and in a deep forest that the fire had not burnt
a woman and a man wakened up. They had been
hidden there by Odin and left to sleep during
Ragnarök, the Twilight of the Gods.
Lif was the woman's name, and Lifthrasir was the
man's. They moved through the world, and their
children and their children's children made people for
the new earth. And of the Gods were left Vidar and
Vali, the sons of Odin, and Modi and Magni, the sons
of Thor; on the new earth Vidar and Vali found tablets
that the older Gods had written on and had left there
for them, tablets telling of all that had happened
before Ragnarök, the Twilight of the Gods.