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AM GOV
2017–2018
JOSEPH LOSCO
Ball State University
RALPH BAKER
State College of Florida
AMGOV 2017–2018, FIFTH EDITION
Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121. Copyright © 2017 by McGraw-Hill Education. All rights
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Losco, Joseph, author. | Baker, Ralph, 1942- author.
Title: Am gov 2017–2018 / Joseph Losco, Bowen Center for Public Affairs, Ball
State University, Ralph Baker, State College of Florida.
Other titles: American government 2017-2018
Description: Fifth edition. | New York, NY : McGraw-Hill Education, 2016.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016040834 | ISBN 9781259444937 (paperback)
Subjects: LCSH: United States—Politics and government—Textbooks. | BISAC:
POLITICAL SCIENCE / Government / National.
Classification: LCC JK276 .L67 2016 | DDC 320.473—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016040834
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Brief Contents • v
Brief Contents
AM GOV
1 Citizenship: In Our Changing Democracy 1
2 The Constitution: The Foundation of Citizens’ Rights 16
3 Federalism: Citizenship and The Dispersal Of Power 40
4 Civil Liberties: Citizens’ Rights versus Security 66
5 Civil Rights: Toward a More Equal Citizenry 102
6 Public Opinion 136
7 Political Participation: Equal Opportunities and Unequal
Voices 161
8 Interest Groups in America 189
9 Parties and Political Campaigns: Putting Democracy into
Action 218
10 Media: Tuning in or Tuning Out 249
11 Congress: Doing the People’s Business 283
12 The Presidency: Power and Paradox 322
13 Bureaucracy: Citizens as Owners and Consumers 362
14 The Courts: Judicial Power in a Democratic Setting 388
15 Public Policy: Responding to Citizens 417
16 Foreign and Defense Policy: Protecting American Interests
in the World 444
(© Robyn Beck/Getty Images)
(© Robert W. Kelley/The LIFE Images Collection/
Getty Images)
(© Getty Images RF)
THE BIRTH OF A NATION 21
The Articles of Confederation: A Document Whose Time
Had Come and Gone 21
The Road to Philadelphia 23
Constitutional Convention 23
Regional Tensions: Slavery and the Three-fifths
Compromise 24
CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES 25
Liberal Democratic Principles 26
Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances 27
Federalism 27
CONSTITUTIONAL CONSTRUCTION 28
THE FIGHT FOR RATIFICATION 29
Antifederalist Opposition 29
The Battle in the States 30
Making Good on a Promise: The Bill of Rights 31
CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE 33
Amending the Constitution 33
Institutional Adaptation 35
Judicial Review 35
Expanding the Franchise 36
THE CONSTITUTION AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TODAY 37
Federalism: Citizenship and the
Dispersal of Power 40
Pot Wars 40
THE DIVISION OF POWER 42
Prevailing Models for Dispersing Power 42
The Federalist Solution 42
THE EVOLUTION OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL
RELATIONS 45
The National Government Asserts Itself: 1789–1832 45
Dual Federalism, Disunion, and War: 1832–1865 47
Federalism in the Age of Commerce: 1865–1932 47
The New Deal and the Growth of National Power:
1932–1937 49
3
Citizenship: In Our Changing
Democracy 1
Millennials: Finding their Voices 1
POLITICS, POWER, AND PARTICIPATION 3
Types of Government 4
Political Power 5
Participation and Democracy 6
AMERICAN POLITICAL IDEALS 8
THE CHANGING FACE OF THE AMERICAN CITIZENRY 9
Growing Diversity 9
Growing Older 10
Growing Apart 10
THE FUTURE OF CITIZENSHIP 12
The Constitution: The Foundation of
Citizens’ Rights 16
A Couple’s Fight for Constitutional Rights 16
THE FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 17
Early Colonization 18
The Colonists Respond to Economic Pressures 19
Colonists Mobilize for Action: The Continental Congress 20
Declaration of Independence 20
2
Contents
1
(© Sandy Macys/Alamy Stock Photo)
Contents • vii
Congress and Religious Freedom 73
Establishment Clause 74
Religion and Public Schools 76
Religious Use of Public School Facilities and Funds 76
Prayer in School 77
Aid to Religious Schools 77
Government Endorsement of Religion 77
FREEDOM OF SPEECH 78
Political Speech 78
Campaign Speech 79
Commercial Speech 81
Symbolic Speech 81
Boundaries of Free Speech 82
Obscenity 82
Defamation 82
Hate Speech 83
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS 83
Prior Restraint 84

Government Control of Media Content 84
Special Rights 85
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION 85
Freedom of Assembly 86
Freedom of Association 86
Cooperative Federalism: 1937–1960s 49
Creative Federalism: 1960s–1970s 50
New Federalism and the Devolution of Power:
1980–Present 51
FEDERAL–STATE RELATIONS 54
Fiscal Relations 54
Political Relations 56
Constitutional Issues 57
INTERSTATE RELATIONS 61
Cooperation and Competition 61
Innovation in the States 61
FEDERALISM AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TODAY 64
Civil Liberties: Citizens’ Rights
versus Security 66
Champions of our Rights 66
HERITAGE OF RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES 69
The Constitution and Rights 69
The Bill of Rights 70
Incorporation 71
The Modern Emphasis on Rights 71
FREEDOM OF RELIGION 72
Free Exercise Clause 73
4
(© Amos Aikman/Getty Images)
viii • AM GOV
The Civil War and Reconstruction 107
Segregation 108
Voting Barriers 110
NAACP 110
Modern Era of Civil Rights 111
Civil Rights Mobilization 112
Civil Rights Legislation 113
Retrospective 114
INTERPRETING EQUALITY 114
Judicial Tests 115
Affirmative Action 115
Racial Classifications 116
Current Impact on Education 116
Continuing Controversy 117
OTHER MINORITY GROUPS 118
Native Americans 118
Hispanic Americans 119
Asian Americans 121
Disabled Americans 122
American Seniors 122
RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS 87
RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED 88
The Fourth Amendment: Searches and Seizures 89
The Fifth Amendment: Self-Incrimination 90
The Sixth Amendment: Right to Counsel 91
The Sixth Amendment: Trial by Jury 93
The Eighth Amendment: Cruel and Unusual
Punishment 94
RIGHT TO PRIVACY 96
Abortion 96
The Right to Die 97
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND CONSTITUTIONAL
LIBERTIES 99
Civil Rights: Toward a More Equal
Citizenry 102
Housing Discrimination in America 102
AFRICAN AMERICANS AND CIVIL RIGHTS 106
Slavery 106
Dred Scott 107
5
(© Bettmann/Corbis via Getty Images)
Contents • ix
Trust in Government 153
Political Efficacy 154
Support for Democratic Values 154
Political Ideologies 154
PUBLIC OPINION AND PUBLIC POLICY 157
PUBLIC OPINION AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TODAY 158
Political Participation: Equal
Opportunities and
Unequal Voices 161
Millennials Rising 161
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION: OPPORTUNITIES, COSTS,
AND BENEFITS 163
CHARACTERISTICS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 164
Amount of Information Conveyed 165
Variation in Frequency and Strength of Messages
Conveyed 166
INGREDIENTS FOR INVOLVEMENT 166
Access to Resources 166
Political Engagement 169
Mobilization 170
VOTING 171
Who Votes? Who Doesn’t? 172
7
Gay and Lesbian Americans 123
WOMEN AND CIVIL RIGHTS 126
Women’s Mobilization Eras 127
Early Women’s Movement: 1840–1875 127
The Suffrage Movement: 1890–1920 128
The Second Women’s Rights Movement: 1961–Present 128
Current Issues 130
Workplace Equity 130
Sexual Harassment 131
Women’s Role in the Military 132
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND CIVIL RIGHTS 133
Public Opinion 136
Public Opinion in Black and White 136
UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC OPINION IN THE CONTEXT OF
AMERICAN POLITICS 138
The Nature of Public Opinion 138
Changes in Assessing and Using Public Opinion 139
HOW POLITICAL OPINIONS
ARE FORMED 140
The Process of Socialization 140
Agents of Political Socialization 140
GROUP DIFFERENCES IN POLITICAL OPINIONS 144
Racial and Ethnic Identity 144
Gender 145
Geography 146
MEASURING PUBLIC OPINION 147
Dimensions of Public Opinion 147
Types of Polls 148
POLLING TECHNIQUES 148
Who Is Asked? Selecting the Sample 148

What Is Asked? Paying Attention to the Questions 151
THE CONTENT OF AMERICAN PUBLIC
OPINION 151
Political Knowledge 152
Confidence in Government Institutions 153
6
(© AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
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x • AM GOV
THE ROOTS OF INTEREST GROUP POLITICS IN
AMERICA 193
Interest Groups on the Rise 193
The Advocacy Explosion 194
WHOSE INTERESTS ARE REPRESENTED? 196
Who Has the Numbers? 196
Who Has the Money? 196
Whose Interests Are Not Represented? 198
WHY JOIN? 198
Monetary Incentives 198
Social Incentives 199
Idealist Incentives 199
Assessing Motives 199
INTEREST GROUP STRATEGIES 200
LOBBYING AND OTHER TACTICS 201
Lobbying 201
Financing Campaigns 206
Accessing the Courts 210
Grassroots Mobilization 211
Coalition Formation 214
Protests 214
INTEREST GROUPS AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
TODAY 215
Parties and Political Campaigns:
Putting Democracy into
Action 218
The Best-Laid Plans . . .   218
POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTORAL POLITICS 220
The Nature of Parties in America 220
Why Two Parties? 221
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
OF OUR TWO-PARTY SYSTEM 224
The Evolution of American Political Parties: Five Party
Systems 224
1968 to Present 226
9
VOTERS IN THE ELECTORAL PROCESS: HOW AMERICANS
DECIDE 176
Party Choice 176
Issues 177
Candidate Characteristics 179
OTHER FORMS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 180
Beyond Voting: Activities That Require More Time 180
Beyond Voting: Activities That Require More Skill 182
Beyond Voting: Activities That Require Money 183
THE IMPACT OF PARTICIPATION PATTERNS ON
POLICY 185
PARTICIPATION AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
TODAY 186
Interest Groups in America 189
Courting the Gun Lobby in their Race for the White
House 189
ORGANIZED INTERESTS:
WHO ARE THEY? 192
Neighbors or Adversaries? 192
Distinctive Features 192
8
(© Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Contents • xi
Media: Tuning in or Tuning Out 249
Trumping the Media 249
EVOLVING CIVIC LIFE AND MEDIA CHANGES 252
Early Days 252
Partisan Press 252
Penny Press 253
Yellow Journalism 253
Broadcast Media 254
The Media Today 255
THE MEDIA ENVIRONMENT
IN AMERICA 259
Private Ownership 259
Government Regulation 259
Ownership Limits 260
Content Regulation 260
Emphasis on Entertainment 260
Adversarial Journalism 261
Political Bias? 262
10
Party Realignment 227
Parties Today: Poles Apart 228
BUILT TO WIN: PARTY STRUCTURE 231
National Committees 231
Congressional and Senatorial Campaign
Committees 234
State Committees 234
Local Party Organizations 235
Working Together 236
THIRD PARTIES AND INDEPENDENT
CANDIDACIES 236
CANDIDATES AND ELECTORAL POLITICS 238
Show Me the Money 238
Where Does All the Money Go? 242
Candidates and the Parties 242
Candidate Communication and Voter
Mobilization 244
PARTIES, POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS, AND CIVIC
ENGAGEMENT TODAY 246
(© Reuters/Evan Semo)
xii • AM GOV
Midterm Elections 291
Redistricting 292
DOING THE JOB: RESPONSIBILITIES AND BENEFITS 295
Representing the People 295
Pay and Perks 296
Keeping in Touch with Voters: Home-Style Politics 297
WORKING WITH OTHERS 298
Dealing with Organized Interests 298
Personal Staff 299
Professional Congressional Committee and Agency
Staff 300
Colleagues 300
Getting Along 302
KEYS TO POLITICAL POWER 302
The Committee System 302
Party 305
Position 306
Procedures 310
THE POWERS OF CONGRESS 311
Lawmaking 311
Declaring War 314
Impeachment 315
Investigation and Oversight 316
Budgeting 317
Senatorial Powers 317
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND CONGRESS TODAY 319
The Presidency: Power and
Paradox 322
Insurgency and its Aftermath 322
ORIGIN AND POWERS OF THE PRESIDENCY 324
Constitutional Provisions 324
Crafting the Office: From Washington to Roosevelt 325
The Modern Presidency 326
THE PATH TO THE PRESIDENCY 327
12
MEDIA AND POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS 264
Free Media 265
Presidential Debates 265
Paid Media 268
The Internet 269
Game Coverage 270
Character Issues: Probing Personal Lives 271
Election Night Coverage 271
GOVERNMENT COVERAGE IN THE MEDIA 273
Covering the President 273
Covering Congress 276
Covering the Supreme Court 277
THE MEDIA AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TODAY 277
Congress: Doing the People’s
Business 283
Order in the House . . . 283
ORIGIN AND POWERS OF CONGRESS 285
CIVIC LIFE AND CONGRESSIONAL CHANGE 286
Building the Institution 287
The Era of Reform 287
The Resurgent Executive Branch 288
The Rights Revolution and Partisan Polarization 288
GETTING ELECTED 289
Resources 290
The Incumbency Factor 290
11
(© Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Contents • xiii
ASSESSING PRESIDENTIAL POWER AND ITS
LIMITS 357
THE VICE PRESIDENCY 358
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND THE PRESIDENCY TODAY 359
Bureaucracy: Citizens as Owners
and Consumers 362
Student Loans, Debt, and Bureaucracy 362
BUREAUCRATIC CHANGES AND EVOLVING CIVIC
LIFE 365
Growth of Bureaucracy 365
The Early Bureaucracy 366
The Reform Era 367
Bureaucracy Today 367
THE NATURE OF BUREAUCRACY 368
FEDERAL BUREAUCRATS AND THEIR WORK 369
Who Are They? 369
What Do They Do? 372
Organization of the Federal Bureaucracy 375
13
GETTING ELECTED 327
Fundraising 327
Primary Sweepstakes 329
Party Conventions 331
The General Election 332
PRESIDENTIAL POWER 337
Chief Executive 337
Commander in Chief 341
Chief Diplomat 343
Chief of State 345
Lawmaker 346
PRESIDENTIAL ROLES 348
Party Leader 349
Economic Leader 349
Opinion Leader 350
THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH 351
Cabinet 351
Executive Office of the President 352
PRESIDENTIAL STYLE 355
(© George Diebold/Photographer’s Choice /Getty Images RF)
xiv • AM GOV
SOURCES OF BUREAUCRATIC POWER 378
External Support 379
Expertise and Discretion 379
Longevity and Vitality 382
Leadership 383
CONTROLLING BUREAUCRATIC POWER 383
Congressional Controls 383
Presidential Controls 384
Judicial Controls 385
Whistle-Blowing 386
THE BUREAUCRACY AND CIVIC
ENGAGEMENT 386
The Courts: Judicial Power in a
Democratic Setting 388
The Supreme Court and Partisan Conflict 388
NATIONAL COURT STRUCTURE 391
District Courts 393
United States Courts of Appeals 393
United States Supreme Court 393
Specialized Courts 394
NATURE OF THE JUDICIAL PROCESS 394
Common Law 394
Judicial Review 395
Civil and Criminal Law 395
Judicial Requirements 396
Real Cases and Controversies 397
14
CHANGING NATURE OF THE SUPREME COURT 398
The Early Court 398
The Court, Business, and Social Welfare 399
The Court and Personal Rights 399
SUPREME COURT DECISION MAKING 399
Agenda Decisions 400
Voting Decisions 401
Explaining Decisions 403
Implementing Decisions 403
Understanding Decisions 404
SUPREME COURT SELECTION 406
Nomination 407
Nomination Criteria 407
Senate Confirmation 410
LOWER COURT SELECTION 411
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND THE JUDICIARY 412
Public Policy: Responding to
Citizens 417
Whatever Happened to the Middle Class? 417
THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF PUBLIC POLICY 419
POLICYMAKING AND EVALUATION 419
Problem Recognition 419
Agenda Setting 420
Policy Formation 420
Policy Adoption 421
Policy Implementation 421
Policy Evaluation 422
Explaining Policy Outcomes 422
DOMESTIC POLICY 423
Protecting the Environment 423
Helping the Poor 428
ECONOMIC POLICY 433
Fiscal Policy 434
Monetary Policy 437
Global Economic Policy 440
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY TODAY 442
15
(© Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Contents • xv
Foreign and Defense Policy:
Protecting American Interests
in the World 444
The Quest for Security in an Uncertain
World 444
DEFENSE AND FOREIGN POLICY IN HISTORICAL
PERSPECTIVE 445
Finding a Place in the World 446
Becoming an International Power 446
The Nuclear Age 447
The Growing Threat of Terrorism 449
DEFENDING U.S. INTERESTS IN A CONSTANTLY
CHANGING WORLD 451
Defining National Interests 451
Understanding Nation-State Dynamics: Foreign Policy
Theories 452
MAKING FOREIGN POLICY 453
The Primacy of the Executive Branch 453
Congress’s Role 457
Other Actors 459
The Public’s Role 459
16
TOOLS OF FOREIGN POLICY 460
Military Power 460
Diplomacy 461
Foreign Aid 462
Working with International Partners 463
CONFRONTING THE FUTURE 464
The Terrorist Threat 465
The Nuclear Threat 467
Threats Posed by Regional Conflicts 468
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND FOREIGN POLICY
TODAY 471
Appendix
The Declaration of Independence 475
The Constitution of the United States of America 477
Federalist No. 10 (James Madison) 492
Federalist No. 51 (James Madison) 495
Glossary 497
Endnotes 506
Index 525
(© Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
xvi • AM GOV
AM GOV was created with one simple premise in mind:
Students will learn only if the content is engaging and
current, if the design is visually attractive, and if the
price is affordable.
With this premise in mind, we, the authors, set out
to discover from you—students and faculty—how best
to create a program that students would read and fac-
ulty would eagerly assign. We interviewed dozens of
faculty and hundreds of students at colleges through-
out the country. Students told us they wanted resources
with innovative visual appeal, interactive digital tech-
nology, an integrated approach, and relevant content
designed according to the way they learn. Instructors
told us they wanted a way to engage their students
without compromising on high-quality content.
We listened. The result is AM GOV, an American
government program that started a revolution. Our
goal in AM GOV is to engage students in the story of
people’s relationship to government and how an active
and informed citizenry is essential in making democ-
racy meaningful. We want students to recognize how their choices about govern-
ment affect their lives.
AM GOV marries our commitment to scholarly content with the value that cur-
rency, presentation, adaptive technology, and reasonable price have for students.
Frequent updates of both political events and scholarship keep the program vital
and relevant. We gave AM GOV this visually rich design because our research
taught us that, in our visual culture, it makes student learning excel and American
government memorable. Students even gave AM GOV its name.
And we continue to listen. Using the latest technology to track student usage
and comprehension, AM GOV pinpoints those content areas students find most
challenging with heat maps. This technology is used to help us rework presen-
tations to make the material more comprehensible and meaningful to students.
Available adaptive technologies, like LearnSmart® and SmartBook®, put students in
control of the learning experience, allowing them to learn from peer responses and
create a personal reading experience that’s all their own.
You started AM GOV. You convinced us that there had to be a better way to get
across the fundamental concepts of American democracy and what it means to be
an American citizen.
We listened. And we continue to learn from you.
What’s in AM GOV
Ralph Baker, State College of Florida, and Joseph Losco, Ball State
University.
About the Authors • xvii
Joseph Losco is professor of political science at Ball State University and Director
of the Bowen Center for Public Affairs. He teaches courses in political theory and
American government. Losco has published in the areas of public policy and politi-
cal theory. His publications include Political Theory: Classic and Contemporary
Readings (Oxford Press) and Human. Nature and Politics, co-edited with Albert
Somit (JAI Press). At the Bowen Center, Losco directs the annual Hoosier Survey of
public opinion and shares responsibility for the Voting System Technical Oversight
Program (VSTOP) which conducts voting system studies for the Indiana Secretary of
State. His research has been funded by grants from the Pew Charitable Trusts and
the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Losco received his B.A. and M.A. from
Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. from Temple University. He has been
married to his wife Marcia for over 40 years and has a son, Michael, who practices
international arbitration law in New York City.
Ralph Baker is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the State College of
Florida where he teaches courses in Introduction to American Government. Before
moving to Florida, he was a political science professor at Ball State University spe-
cializing in American government, constitutional law, constitutional liberties, judicial
politics, criminal justice policy, and media and politics. Raised in central Illinois, he
attended Bradley University for his undergraduate degree and the University of
Illinois for his M.A. and Ph.D.
He is the author of numerous books and articles including the The Criminal
Justice Game, Evaluating Alternative Law Enforcement Policies, Determinants of
Law Enforcement Policies, State Policy Problems, and Women Government Officials
in Indiana and articles concerning the Supreme Court, gender policy, the chilly cli-
mate in academia, media and politics, and police professionalism. With Joe Losco,
Baker produced over twenty political science videos that resulted in Telly Awards
for “ The 1996 Campaign,” “The 2000 Campaign,” and an Axiem Award for “Case
Studies in American Government.”
At Ball State University, Baker won the Outstanding Teacher Award and served
several terms as the President of the Indiana Political Science Association.
About the Authors
xviii • AM GOV
Foundational Content and
AM GOV is a relatable, informative, and visual introduction to American politics.
Designed with today’s students in mind, AM GOV is a concise, magazine style pro-
gram that teaches students how to think critically, and politically. With an emphasis
on current events, AM GOV engages its readers through approachable content and
digital tools that are proven to help students better understand and connect with the
concepts and language used in the American Government course.
Better Data, Smarter Revision, Improved Results
Students helped inform the revision strategy:
STEP 1. Over the course of three years, data points showing concepts that caused
students the most difficulty were anonymously collected from McGraw-Hill
Education’s Connect® American Government’s LearnSmart for AM GOV.
STEP 2. The data from LearnSmart was provided to the authors in the
form of a Heat Map, which graphically illustrated “hot spots” in the
text that impacted student learning (see image to left).
STEP 3. The authors used the Heat Map data to refine the content
and reinforce student comprehension in the new edition. Additional
quiz questions and assignable activities were created for use in
Connect American Government to further support student success.
RESULT: Because the Heat Map gave the authors empirically based
feedback at the paragraph and even sentence level, they was able to
develop the new edition using precise student data that pinpointed
concepts that caused students the most difficulty.
Heat map data also informs the activities and assessments in Connect
American Government, McGraw-Hill Education’s assignable and assessable
learning platform. Where the Heat map data shows students struggle with
specific learning objectives or concepts, we created new Connect assets—
Concept Clips, Applied Critical Thinking (ACT), and NewsFlash current event
activities—to provide another avenue for students to learn and master the
content.
For example, less than 50% of students showed mastery of the Learning
Objective: Explain the legislative process.
In response we added:
• A new Concept Clip - How does a bill become a law?
• A new ACT assignment – Who is your member of the House of Representatives?
• A related NewsFlash current event article
Fueled by LearnSmart, SmartBook is the first and only adaptive reading experi-
ence currently available.
Make It Effective. SmartBook creates a personalized reading experience by high-
lighting the most impactful concepts a student needs to learn at that moment in time. This
ensures that every minute spent with SmartBook is returned to the student as the most
value added minute possible.
Make It Informed. The reading experience continuously adapts by highlight-
ing content based on what the student knows and doesn’t know. Real-time reports
Preface • xix
Digital Tools Designed for Today’s Student
quickly identify the concepts that require more attention from individual students—or
the entire class. SmartBook detects the content a student is most likely to forget and
brings it back to improve long-term knowledge retention.
Informing and Engaging Students on
American Government Concepts
Using Connect American Government, student can learn the course material more
deeply and study more effectively than ever before.
At the remember and understand levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, Concept Clips help
students break down key concepts in American Government. Using easy-to-under-
stand audio narration, visual cues, and colorful animations, Concept Clips provide a
step-by-step presentation that aid in student retention. New Concept Clips for this edi-
tion include the following:
• Explaining ideology
• Constitutional compromises
• Right of privacy
• Restrictions on voting
• Political socialization
• Realignment of parties
• Interest groups
• Legislative process
• Presidential powers
• Supreme Court procedures
Also at the remember and understand levels
of Bloom’s, Newsflash exercises tie current
news stories to key American government
concepts and learning objectives. After interacting with a contemporary news story,
students are assessed on their ability to make the connections between real life
events and course content. Examples include the 2016 election results, transgender
bathroom bills, and aftermath of Justice Antonin Scalia’s death.
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evaluate levels.
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- Confidence in Government Institutions
- Independent Expenditures by Election
- Incumbency Advantage
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TEUTONIC
MYTHOLOGY: GODS AND GODDESSES OF THE NORTHLAND, VOL. 2
***
Teutonic Mythology
Gods and Goddesses of the Northland
IN
THREE VOLUMES
By VIKTOR RYDBERG, Ph.D.,
MEMBER OF THE SWEDISH ACADEMY; AUTHOR OF THE LAST
ATHENIAN AND OTHER WORKS.
AUTHORISED TRANSLATION FROM THE SWEDISH
BY
RASMUS B. ANDERSON, LL.D.,
EX-UNITED STATES MINISTER TO DENMARK; AUTHOR OF NORSE
MYTHOLOGY, VIKING TALES, ETC.
HON. RASMUS B. ANDERSON, LL.D., Ph.D.,
EDITOR IN CHIEF.
J. W. BUEL, Ph.D.,
MANAGING EDITOR.
VOL. II.
PUBLISHED BY THE
NORRŒNA SOCIETY,
LONDON COPENHAGEN STOCKHOLM BERLIN NEW YORK
1906
OF THE
Viking Edition
There are but six hundred and fifty sets made for the world, of
which this is
No. 99
COPYRIGHT,
T. H. SMART,
1905.
VALKYRIES BRINGING THE BODY OF A SLAIN WARRIOR
TO VALHALLA
(From an etching by Lorenz Frölich.)
Heimdal, the god of light, father of men, sire of kings, was
warder of the gates of Valhalla and lived in a castle at the
end of the rainbow (Bifröst bridge). He possessed a
trumpet called Gjallarhorn with which he summoned
together the gods at Ragnarok. He is represented as the
zealous gate-keeper who received and admitted to Valhalla
the bodies of warriors slain in battle, when brought hence
by Valkyrie maidens who gathered them from battle-fields.
Valhalla was the abode of Odin in Asgard which was
situated in Gladsheim, the valley of joy. In this paradise
dead warriors were revived and spent all after-time
fighting, feasting, and drinking as the guests of Odin,
pursuing those pleasures that most delighted them when in
the flesh.
TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
VOLUME TWO
Page
Myth in Regard to the Lower World 353
Myth Concerning Mimer's Grove 379
Mimer's Grove and Regeneration of the World 389
Gylfaginning's Cosmography 395
The Word Hel in Linguistic Usage 406
Border Mountain Between Hel and Nifelhel 414
Description of Nifelhel 426
Who the Inhabitants of Hel are 440
The Classes of Beings in Hel 445
The Kingdom of Death 447
Valkyries, Psycho-messengers of Diseases 457
The Way of Those who Fall by the Sword 462
Risting with the Spear-point 472
Loke's Daughter, Hel 476
Way to Hades Common to the Dead 482
The Doom of the Dead 485
The Looks of the Thingstead 505
The Hades Drink 514
The Hades Horn Embellished with Serpents 521
The Lot of the Blessed 528
Arrival at the Na-gates 531
The Places of Punishment 534
The Hall in Nastrands 540
Loke's Cave of Punishment 552
The Great World-Mill 565
The World-Mill makes the Constellations Revolve 579
Origin of the Sacred Fire 586
Mundilfore's Identity with Lodur 601
Nat, Mother of the Gods 608
Narfi, Nat's Father 611
Giant Clans Descended from Ymer 624
Identity of Mimer and Nidhad 630
Review of Mimer's Names and Epithets 641
The Mead Myth 644
The Moon and the Mead 669
Myths of the Moon-God 680
LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURES.
Page
VOL. II.
Valkyries Bringing the Body of a Slain Warrior to
Valhalla
Frontispiece
Thor Destroys the Giant Thrym 456
The Punishment of Loke 552
Gefion and King Gylphi 616
THE MYTH IN REGARD TO THE
LOWER WORLD.
(Part IV. Continued from Volume I.)
53.
AT WHAT TIME DID LIF AND LEIFTHRASER GET THEIR PLACE OF
REFUGE IN MIMER'S GROVE? THE ASMEGIR. MIMER'S POSITION IN
MYTHOLOGY. THE NUMINA OF THE LOWER WORLD.
It is necessary to begin this investigation by pointing out the fact
that there are two versions of the last line of strophe 45 in
Vafthrudnersmal. The version of this line quoted above was—enn
thadan af aldir alaz: Thence (from Lif and Leifthraser in Mimer's
grove) races are born. Codex Upsalensis has instead—ok thar um
alldr alaz: And they (Lif and Leifthraser) have there (in Mimer's
grove) their abiding place through ages. Of course only the one of
these versions can, from a text-historical standpoint, be the original
one. But this does not hinder both from being equally legitimate
from a mythological standpoint, providing both date from a time
when the main features of the myth about Lif and Leifthraser were
still remembered. Examples of versions equally justifiable from a
mythological standpoint can be cited from other literatures than the
Norse. If we in the choice between the two versions pay regard only
to the age of the manuscripts, then the one in Codex Upsalensis,
which is copied about the year 1300,[1] has the preference. It would,
however, hardly be prudent to put the chief emphasis on this fact.
Without drawing any conclusions, I simply point out the fact that the
oldest version we possess of the passage says that Lif and
Leifthraser live through ages in Mimer's grove. Nor is the other
version much younger, so far as the manuscript in which it is found
is concerned, and from a mythological standpoint that, too, is
beyond doubt correct.
In two places in the poetic Edda (Vegtamskv, 7, and Fjolsvinnsm.,
33) occurs the word ásmegir. Both times it is used in such a manner
that we perceive that it is a mythological terminus technicus having
a definite, limited application. What this application was is not
known. It is necessary to make a most thorough analysis of the
passages in order to find the signification of this word again, since it
is of importance to the subject which we are discussing. I shall begin
with the passage in Fjolsvinnsmal.
The young Svipdag, the hero in Grogalder and in Fjolsvinnsmal, is in
the latter poem represented as standing before the gate of a citadel
which he never saw before, but within the walls of which the maid
whom fate has destined to be his wife resides. Outside of the gate is
a person who is or pretends to be the gate-keeper, and calls himself
Fjolsvinn. He and Svipdag enter into conversation. The conversation
turns chiefly upon the remarkable objects which Svipdag has before
his eyes. Svipdag asks questions about them, and Fjolsvinn gives
him information. But before Svipdag came to the castle, within which
his chosen one awaits him, he has made a remarkable journey
(alluded to in Grogalder), and he has seen strange things (thus in
str. 9, 11, 33) which he compares with those which he now sees,
and in regard to which he also desires information from Fjolsvinn.
When the questions concern objects which are before him at the
time of speaking, he employs, as the logic of language requires, the
present tense of the verb (as in strophe 35—segdu mèr hvat that
bjarg heitir, er ek sè brudi á). When he speaks of what he has seen
before and elsewhere, he employs the past tense of the verb. In
strophe 33 he says:
Segdu mér that, Fjölsvidr,
er ek thik fregna mun
ok ek vilja vita;
hverr that gördi,
er ek fyr gard sák
innan ásmaga?
Tell me that which I ask you, and which I wish to know, Fjolsvinn:
Who made that which I saw within the castle wall of the ásmegir?
[2]
Fjolsvinn answers (str. 34):
Uni ok Iri,
Bari ok Ori,
Varr ok Vegdrasil,
Dori ok Uri;
Dellingr ok vardar
lithsci alfr, loki.
Une and Ire, Bare and Ore, Var and Vegdrasil, Dore and Ure,
Delling, the cunning elf, is watchman at the gate.[3]
Thus Svipdag has seen a place where beings called ásmegir dwell. It
is well enclosed and guarded by the elf Delling. The myth must have
laid great stress on the fact that the citadel was well guarded, since
Delling, whose cunning is especially emphasised, has been entrusted
with this task. The citadel must also have been distinguished for its
magnificence and for other qualities, since what Svipdag has seen
within its gates has awakened his astonishment and admiration, and
caused him to ask Fjolsvinn about the name of its builder. Fjolsvinn
enumerates not less than eight architects. At least three of these are
known by name in other sources—namely, the dwarfs Var (Sn.
Edda, ii. 470, 553), Dore, and Ore. Both the last-named are also
found in the list of dwarfs incorporated in Völuspa. Both are said to
be dwarfs in Dvalin's group of attendants or servants (i Dvalins lidi—
Völuspa, 14).
The problem to the solution of which I am struggling on—namely, to
find the explanation of what beings those are which are called
ásmegir—demands first of all that we should find out where the
myth located their dwelling seen by Svipdag, a fact which is of
mythological importance in other respects. This result can be gained,
providing Dvalin's and Delling's real home and the scene of their
activity can be determined. This is particularly important in respect
to Delling, since his office as gate-keeper at the castle of the
ásmegir demands that he must have his home where his duties are
required. To some extent this is also true of Dvalin, since the field of
his operations cannot have been utterly foreign to the citadel on
whose wonders his sub-artists laboured.
The author of the dwarf-list in Völuspa makes all holy powers
assemble to consult as to who shall create the dwarfs, the artist-
clan of the mythology. The wording of strophe 10 indicates that on a
being by name Modsognir, Motsognir, was bestowed the dignity of
chief[4] of the proposed artist-clan, and that he, with the assistance
of Durin (Durinn), carried out the resolution of the gods, and created
dwarfs resembling men. The author of the dwarf list must have
assumed—
That Modsogner was one of the older beings of the world, for the
assembly of gods here in question took place in the morning of time
before the creation was completed.
That Modsogner possessed a promethean power of creating.
That he either belonged to the circle of holy powers himself, or stood
in a close and friendly relation to them, since he carried out the
resolve of the gods.
Accordingly, we should take Modsogner to be one of the more
remarkable characters of the mythology. But either he is not
mentioned anywhere else than in this place—we look in vain for the
name Modsogner elsewhere—or this name is merely a skaldic
epithet, which has taken the place of a more common name, and
which by reference to a familiar nota characteristica indicates a
mythic person well known and mentioned elsewhere. It cannot be
disputed that the word looks like an epithet. Egilsson (Lex. Poet.)
defines it as the mead-drinker. If the definition is correct, then the
epithet were badly chosen if it did not refer to Mimer, who originally
was the sole possessor of the mythic mead, and who daily drank of
it (Völuspa, 29—dreckr miód Mimir morgin hverjan). Still nothing can
be built simply on the definition of a name, even if it is correct
beyond a doubt. All the indices which are calculated to shed light on
a question should be collected and examined. Only when they all
point in the same direction, and give evidence in favour of one and
the same solution of the problem, the latter can be regarded as
settled.
Several of the dwarfs created by Modsogner are named in Völuspa,
11-13. Among them are Dvalin. In the opinion of the author of the
list of dwarfs, Dvalin must have occupied a conspicuous place among
the beings to whom he belongs, for he is the only one of them all
who is mentioned as having a number of his own kind as subjects
(Völuspa, 14). The problem as to whether Modsogner is identical
with Mimer should therefore be decided by the answers to the
following questions: Is that which is narrated about Modsogner also
narrated of Mimer? Do the statements which we have about Dvalin
show that he was particularly connected with Mimer and with the
lower world, the realm of Mimer?
Of Modsogner it is said (Völuspa, 12) that he was mæstr ordinn
dverga allra: he became the chief of all dwarfs, or, in other words,
the foremost among all artists. Have we any similar report of Mimer?
The German middle-age poem, Biterolf, relates that its hero
possessed a sword, made, by Mimer the Old, Mime der alte, who
was the most excellent smith in the world. To be compared with him
was not even Wieland (Volund, Wayland), still less anyone else, with
the one exception of Hertrich, who was Mimer's co-labourer, and
assisted him in making all the treasures he produced:
Zuo siner (Mimer's) meisterschefte
ich nieman kan gelichen
in allen fürsten richen
an einen, den ich nenne,
daz man in dar bi erkenne:
Der war Hertrich genant.
...
Durch ir sinne craft
so hæten sie geselleschaft
an werke und an allen dingen. (Biterolf, 144.)
Vilkinasaga, which is based on both German and Norse sources,
states that Mimer was an artist, in whose workshop the sons of
princes and the most famous smiths learned the trade of the smith.
Among his apprentices are mentioned Velint (Volund), Sigurd-Sven,
and Eckihard.
These echoes reverberating far down in Christian times of the myth
about Mimer, as chief of smiths, we also perceive in Saxo. It should
be remembered what he relates about the incomparable treasures
which are preserved in Gudmund-Mimer's domain, among which in
addition to those already named occur arma humanorum corporum
habitu grandiora (i., p. 427), and about Mimingus, who possesses
the sword of victory, and an arm-ring which produces wealth (i. 113,
114). If we consult the poetic Edda, we find Mimer mentioned as
Hodd-Mimer, Treasure-Mimer (Vafthr. 45); as naddgöfugr jotunn, the
giant celebrated for his weapons (Grogalder, 14); as Hoddrofnir, or
Hodd-dropnir, the treasure-dropping one (Sigrdr., 13); as
Baugreginn, the king of the gold-rings (Solarlj., 56). And as shall be
shown hereafter, the chief smiths are in the poetic Edda put in
connection with Mimer as the one on whose fields they dwell, or in
whose smithy they work.
In the mythology, artistic and creative powers are closely related to
each other. The great smiths of the Rigveda hymns, the Ribhus,
make horses for Indra, create a cow and her calf, make from a single
goblet three equally good, diffuse vegetation over the fields, and
make brooks flow in the valleys (Rigveda, iv. 34, 9; iv. 38, 8; i. 20, 6,
110, 3, and elsewhere). This they do although they are mortals,
who by their merits acquire immortality. In the Teutonic mythology
Sindre and Brok forge from a pig-skin Frey's steed, which looks like a
boar, and the sons of Ivalde forge from gold locks that grow like
other hair. The ring Draupnir, which the dwarfs Sindre and Brok
made, possesses itself creative power and produces every ninth
night eight gold rings of equal weight with itself (Skaldsk., 37). The
mead-drinker is the chief and master of all these artists. And on a
closer examination it appears that Mimer's mead-well is the source
of all these powers, which in the mythology are represented as
creating, forming, and ordaining with wisdom.
In Havamál (138-141) Odin relates that there was a time when he
had not yet acquired strength and wisdom. But by self-sacrifice he
was able to prevail on the celebrated Bolthorn's son, who dwells in
the deep and has charge of the mead-fountain there and of the
mighty runes, to give him (Odin) a drink from the precious mead,
drawn from Odrærir:
Tha nam ec frovaz
oc frodr vera
oc vaxa oc vel hafaz;
ord mer af ordi
orz leitadi,
verc mer af verki
vercs leitadi.
Then I began to
bloom
and to be wise,
and to grow and thrive;
word came to me
from word,
deed came to me
from deed.
It is evident that Odin here means to say that the first drink which
he received from Mimer's fountain was the turning-point in his life;
that before that time he had not blossomed, had made no progress
in wisdom, had possessed no eloquence nor ability to do great
deeds, but that he acquired all this from the power of the mead.
This is precisely the same idea as we constantly meet with in
Rigveda, in regard to the soma-mead as the liquid from which the
gods got creative power, wisdom, and desire to accomplish great
deeds. Odin's greatest and most celebrated achievement was that
he, with his brothers, created Midgard. Would it then be reasonable
to suppose that he performed this greatest and wisest of his works
before he began to develop fruit, and before he got wisdom and the
power of activity? It must be evident to everybody that this would
be unreasonable. It is equally manifest that among the works which
he considered himself able to perform after the drink from Mimer's
fountain had given him strength, we must place in the front rank
those for which he is most celebrated: the slaying of the chaos-giant
Ymer, the raising of the crust of the earth, and the creation of
Midgard. This could not be said more clearly than it is stated in the
above strophe of Havamál, unless Odin should have specifically
mentioned the works he performed after receiving the drink. From
Mimer's fountain and from Mimer's hand Odin has, therefore,
received his creative power and his wisdom. We are thus able to
understand why Odin regarded this first drink from Odrærer so
immensely important that he could resolve to subject himself to the
sufferings which are mentioned in strophes 138 and 139. But when
Odin by a single drink from Mimer's fountain is endowed with
creative power and wisdom, how can the conclusion be evaded, that
the myth regarded Mimer as endowed with Promethean power, since
it makes him the possessor of the precious fountain, makes him
drink therefrom every day, and places him nearer to the deepest
source and oldest activity of these forces in the universe than Odin
himself? The given and more instantaneous power, thanks to which
Odin was made able to form the upper world, came from the lower
world and from Mimer. The world-tree has also grown out of the
lower world and is Mimer's tree, and receives from his hands its
value. Thus the creative power with which the dwarf-list in Völuspa
endowed the mead-drinker is rediscovered in Mimer. It is,
therefore, perfectly logical when the mythology makes him its first
smith and chief artist, and keeper of treasures and the ruler of a
group of dwarfs, underground artists, for originally these were and
remained creative forces personified, just as Rigveda's Rubhus, who
smithied flowers and grass, and animals, and opened the veins of
the earth for fertilising streams, while they at the same time made
implements and weapons.
That Mimer was the profound counsellor and faithful friend of the
Asas has already been shown. Thus we discover in Mimer
Modsogner's governing position among the artists, his creative
activity, and his friendly relation to the gods.
Dvalin, created by Modsogner, is in the Norse sagas of the middle
ages remembered as an extraordinary artist. He is there said to have
assisted in the fashioning of the sword Tyrfing (Fornald. Saga, i.
436), of Freyja's splendid ornament Brisingamen, celebrated also in
Anglo-Saxon poetry (Fornald. Saga, i. 391). In the Snofrid song,
which is attributed to Harald Fairhair, the drapa is likened unto a
work of art, which rings forth from beneath the fingers of Dvalin
(hrynr fram ur Dvalin's greip—Fornm. Saga, x. 208; Flat., i. 582).
This beautiful poetical figure is all the more appropriately applied,
since Dvalin was not only the producer of the beautiful works of the
smith, but also sage and skald. He was one of the few chosen ones
who in time's morning were permitted to taste of Mimer's mead,
which therefore is called his drink (Dvalin's drykkr—Younger Edda, i.
246).
But in the earliest antiquity no one partook of this drink who did not
get it from Mimer himself.
Dvalin is one of the most ancient rune-masters, one of those who
brought the knowledge of runes to those beings of creation who
were endowed with reason (Havamál, 143). But all knowledge of
runes came originally from Mimer. As skald and runic scholar, Dvalin,
therefore, stood in the relation of disciple under the ruler of the
lower world.
The myth in regard to the runes (cp. No. 26) mentioned three
apprentices, who afterwards spread the knowledge of runes each
among his own class of beings. Odin, who in the beginning was
ignorant of the mighty and beneficent rune-songs (Havamál, 138-
143), was by birth Mimer's chief disciple, and taught the knowledge
of runes among his kinsmen, the Asas (Havamál, 143), and among
men, his protégés (Sigdrifm., 18). The other disciples were Dain
(Dáinn) and Dvalin (Dvalinn). Dain, like Dvalin, is an artist created by
Modsogner (Völuspa, 11, Hauks Codex). He is mentioned side by
side with Dvalin, and like him he has tasted the mead of poesy
(munnvigg Dáins—Fornm. Saga, v. 209). Dain and Dvalin taught the
runes to their clans, that is, to elves and dwarfs (Havamál, 143). Nor
were the giants neglected. They learned the runes from Ásvidr.
Since the other teachers of runes belong to the clans, to which they
teach the knowledge of runes—Odin among Asas, Dain among
elves, Dvalin among dwarfs—there can be no danger of making a
mistake, if we assume that Ásvidr was a giant. And as Mimer himself
is a giant, and as the name Ásvidr (= Ásvinr) means Asa-friend, and
as no one—particularly no one among the giants—has so much right
as Mimer to this epithet, which has its counterpart in Odin's epithet,
Mims vinr (Mimer's friend), then caution dictates that we keep open
the highly probable possibility that Mimer himself is meant by Ásvidr.
All that has here been stated about Dvalin shows that the mythology
has referred him to a place within the domain of Mimer's activity. We
have still to point out two statements in regard to him. Sol is said to
have been his leika (Fornald., i. 475; Allvism, 17; Younger Edda, i.
472, 593). Leika, as a feminine word and referring to a personal
object, means a young girl, a maiden, whom one keeps at his side,
and in whose amusement one takes part at least as a spectator. The
examples which we have of the use of the word indicate that the
leika herself, and the person whose leika she is, are presupposed to
have the same home. Sisters are called leikur, since they live
together. Parents can call a foster-daughter their leika. In the neuter
gender leika means a plaything, a doll or toy, and even in this sense
it can rhetorically be applied to a person.
In the same manner as Sol is called Dvalin's leika, so the son of Nat
and Delling, Dag, is called leikr Dvalins, the lad or youth with whom
Dvalin amused himself (Fornspjal., 24).
We have here found two points of contact between the mythic
characters Dvalin and Delling. Dag, who is Dvalin's leikr, is Delling's
son. Delling is the watchman of the castle of the ásmegir, which
Dvalin's artists decorated.
Thus the whole group of persons among whom Dvalin is placed—
Mimer, who is his teacher; Sol, who is his leika; Dag, who is his leikr;
Nat, who is the mother of his leikr; Delling, who is the father of his
leikr—have their dwellings in Mimer's domain, and belong to the
subterranean class of the numina of Teutonic mythology.
From regions situated below Midgard's horizon, Nat, Sol, and Dag
draw their chariots upon the heavens. On the eastern border of the
lower world is the point of departure for their regular journeys over
the heavens of the upper world (the upper heavens, upphiminn—
Völuspa, 3; Vafthr., 20, and elsewhere; uppheimr—Alvm., 13). Nat
has her home and, as shall be shown hereafter, her birthplace in
dales beneath the ash Ygdrasil. There she takes her rest after the
circuit of her journey has been completed. In the lower world Sol
and Nat's son, Dag, also have their halls where they take their rest.
But where Delling's wife and son have their dwellings there we
should also look for Delling's own abode. As the husband of Nat and
the father of Dag, Delling occupies the same place among the
divinities of nature as the dawn and the glow of sunrise among the
phenomena of nature. And outside the doors of Delling, the king of
dawn, mythology has also located the dwarf thjódreyrir (he who
moves the people), who sings songs of awakening and blessing
upon the world: power to the Asas, success to the elves, wisdom to
Hroptatyr (afl asom, enn alfum frama, hyggio Hroptaty—Havam.,
160).
Unlike his kinsmen, Nat, Dag, and Sol, Delling has no duty which
requires him to be absent from home a part of the day. The dawn is
merely a reflection of Midgard's eastern horizon from Delling's
subterranean dwelling. It can be seen only when Nat leaves the
upper heaven and before Dag and Sol have come forward, and it
makes no journey around the world. From a mythological standpoint
it would therefore be possible to entrust the keeping of the castle of
the ásmegir to the elf of dawn. The sunset-glow has another genius,
Billing, and he, too, is a creation of Modsogner, if the dwarf-list is
correct (Völuspa, 12). Sol, who on her way is pursued by two giant
monsters in wolf-guise, is secure when she comes to her forest of
the Varns behind the western horizon (til varna vidar—Grimn., 30).
There in western halls (Vegtamskv., 11) dwells Billing, the chief of
the Varns (Billing veold Vernum—Cod. Exon., 320). There rests his
daughter Rind bright as the sun on her bed, and his body-guard
keeps watch with kindled lights and burning torches (Havam., 100).
Thus Billing is the watchman of the western boundary of Mimer's
domain, Delling of the eastern.
From this it follows:
That the citadel of the ásmegir is situated in Mimer's lower world,
and there in the regions of the elf of dawn.
That Svipdag, who has seen the citadel of the ásmegir, has made a
journey in the lower world before he found Menglad and secured her
as his wife.
The conclusion to which we have arrived in regard to the
subterranean situation of the citadel is entirely confirmed by the
other passage in the poetic Edda, where the ásmegir are mentioned
by this name. Here we have an opportunity of taking a look within
their castle, and of seeing the hall decorated with lavish splendour
for the reception of an expected guest.
Vegtamskvida tells us that Odin, being alarmed in regard to the fate
of his son Balder, made a journey to the lower world for the purpose
of learning from a vala what foreboded his favourite son. When Odin
had rode through Nifelhel and come to green pastures (foldvegr), he
found there below a hall decorated for festivity, and he asks the
prophetess:
hvæim eru bekkir
baugum sánir,
flæt fagrlig
floth gulli?
For whom are the benches strewn with rings and the gold
beautifully scattered through the rooms?
And the vala answers:
Her stændr Balldri
of bruggin miodr,
skirar væigar,
liggr skiolldr yfir
æn ásmegir
i ofvæni.
Here stands for Balder mead prepared, pure drink; shields are
overspread, and the ásmegir are waiting impatiently.
Thus there stands in the lower world a hall splendidly decorated
awaiting Balder's arrival. As at other great feasts, the benches are
strewn (cp. breida bekki, strá bekki, bua bekki) with costly things,
and the pure wonderful mead of the lower world is already served as
an offering to the god. Only the shields which cover the mead-vessel
need to be lifted off and all is ready for the feast. Who or what
persons have, in so good season, made these preparations? The vala
explains when she mentions the ásmegir and speaks of their longing
for Balder. It is this longing which has found utterance in the
preparations already completed for his reception. Thus, when Balder
gets to the lower world, he is to enter the citadel of the ásmegir and
there be welcomed by a sacrifice, consisting of the noblest liquid of
creation, the strength-giving soma-madhu of Teutonic mythology. In
the old Norse heathen literature there is only one more place where
we find the word ásmegir, and that is in Olaf Trygveson's saga, ch.
16 (Heimskringla). For the sake of completeness this passage should
also be considered, and when analysed it, too, sheds much and
important light on the subject.
We read in this saga that Jarl Hakon proclaimed throughout his
kingdom that the inhabitants should look after their temples and
sacrifices, and so was done. Jarl Hakon's hird-skald, named Einar
Skalaglam, who in the poem Vellekla celebrated his deeds and
exploits, mentions his interest in the heathen worship, and the good
results this was supposed to have produced for the jarl himself and
for the welfare of his land. Einar says:
Ok hertharfir hverfa
hlakkar móts til blóta,
raudbrikar fremst rækir
rikr, ásmegir, sliku.
Nu grær jörd sem adan, c.
Put in prose: Ok hertharfir ásmegir hverfa til blóta; hlakkar móts
raudbríkar ríkr rækír fremst sliku. Nu grær jörd sem ádan.
Translation: And the ásmegir required in war, turn themselves to the
sacrificial feasts. The mighty promoter of the meeting of the red
target of the goddess of war has honour and advantage thereof.
Now grows the earth green as heretofore.
There can be no doubt that the ásmegir required in war refer to
the men in the territory ruled by Hakon, and that the mighty
promoter of the meeting of the red target of the goddess of war
refers to the warlike Hakon himself, and hence the meaning of the
passage in its plain prose form is simply this: Hakon's men again
devote themselves to the divine sacrifices. This is both an honour
and an advantage to Hakon, and the earth again yields bountiful
harvests.
To these thoughts the skald has given a garb common in poetry of
art, by adapting them to a mythological background. The persons in
this background are the ásmegir and a mythical being called the
promoter of the red target, raudbríkar rækir. The persons in the
foreground are the men in Hakon's realm and Hakon himself. The
persons in the foreground are permitted to borrow the names of the
corresponding persons in the background, but on the condition that
the borrowed names are furnished with adjectives which emphasise
the specific difference between the original mythic lenders and the
real borrowers. Thus Hakon's subjects are allowed to borrow the
appellation ásmegir, but this is then furnished with, the adjective
hertharfir (required in war), whereby they are specifically
distinguished from the ásmegir of the mythical background, and
Hakon on his part is allowed to borrow the appellation raudbríkar
rækir (the promoter of the red target), but this appellation is then
furnished with the adjective phrase hlakkar móts (of the meeting of
the goddess of war), whereby Hakon is specifically distinguished
from the raudbríkar rækir of the mythical background.
The rule also requires that, at least on that point of which the skald
happens to be treating, the persons in the mythological background
should hold a relation to each other which resembles, and can be
compared with, the relation between the persons in the foreground.
Hakon's men stand in a subordinate relation to Hakon himself; and
so must the ásmegir stand in a subordinate relation to that being
which is called raudbríkar rækir, providing the skald in this strophe
as in the others has produced a tenable parallel. Hakon is, for his
subjects, one who exhorts them to piety and fear of the gods.
Raudbríkar rækir, his counterpart in the mythological background,
must have been the same for his ásmegir. Hakon's subjects offer
sacrifices, and this is an advantage and an honour to Hakon, and the
earth grows green again. In the mythology the ásmegir must have
held some sacrificial feast, and raudbríkar rækir must have had
advantage and honour, and the earth must have regained its fertility.
Only on these conditions is the figure of comparison to the point,
and of such a character that it could be presented unchallenged to
heathen ears familiar with the myths. It should be added that Einar's
greatness as a skald is not least shown by his ability to carry out
logically such figures of comparison. We shall later on give other
examples of this.
Who is, then, this raudbríkar rækir, the promoter of the red target?
In the mythological language raudbrik (red target) can mean no
other object than the sun. Compare rödull, which is frequently used
to designate the sun. If this needed confirmation, then we have it
immediately at hand in the manner in which the word is applied in
the continuation of the paraphrase adapted to Hakon. A common
paraphrase for the shield is the sun with suitable adjectives, and
thus raudbrik is applied here. The adjective phrase is here hlakkar
móts, of the meeting of the war-goddess (that is, qualifying the
red target), whereby the red target (= sun), which is an attribute of
the mythic rækir of the background, is changed to a shield, which
becomes an attribute of the historical rækir of the foreground,
namely Hakon jarl, the mighty warrior. Accordingly, raudbríkar rækir
of the mythology must be a masculine divinity standing in some
relation to the sun.
This sun-god must also have been upon the whole a god of peace.
Had he not been so, but like Hakon a war-loving shield-bearer, then
the paraphrase hlakkar móts raudbríkar rækir would equally well
designate him as Hakon, and thus it could not be used to designate
Hakon alone, as it then would contain neither a nota characteristica
for him nor a differentia specifica to distinguish him from the mythic
person, whose epithet raudbríkar rækir he has been allowed to
borrow.
This peaceful sun-god must have descended to the lower world and
there stood in the most intimate relation with the ásmegir referred
to the domain of Mimer, for he is here represented as their chief and
leader in the path of piety and the fear of the gods. The myth must
have mentioned a sacrificial feast or sacrificial feasts celebrated by
the ásmegir. From this or these sacrificial feasts the peaceful sun-
god must have derived advantage and honour, and thereupon the
earth must have regained a fertility, which before that had been
more or less denied it.
From all this it follows with certainty that raudbrikar rækir of the
mythology is Balder. The fact suggested by the Vellekla strophe
above analysed, namely, that Balder, physically interpreted, is a solar
divinity, the mythological scholars are almost a unit in assuming to
be the case on account of the general character of the Balder myth.
Though Balder was celebrated for heroic deeds he is substantially a
god of peace, and after his descent to the lower world he is no
longer connected with the feuds and dissensions of the upper world.
We have already seen that he was received in the lower world with
great pomp by the ásmegir, who impatiently awaited his arrival, and
that they sacrifice to him that bright mead of the lower world, whose
wonderfully beneficial and bracing influence shall be discussed
below. Soon afterwards he is visited by Hermod. Already before
Balder's funeral pyre, Hermod upon the fastest of all steeds
hastened to find him in the lower world (Gylfag., 51, 52), and
Hermod returns from him and Nanna with the ring Draupnir for
Odin, and with a veil for the goddess of earth, Fjorgyn-Frigg. The
ring from which other rings drop, and the veil which is to beautify
the goddess of earth, are symbols of fertility. Balder, the sun-god,
had for a long time before his death been languishing. Now in the
lower world he is strengthened with the bracing mead of Mimer's
domain by the ásmegir who gladly give offerings, and the earth
regains her green fields.
Hakon's men are designated in the strophe as hertharfir ásmegir.
When they are permitted to borrow the name of the ásmegir, then
the adjective hertharfir, if chosen with the proper care, is to contain
a specific distinction between them and the mythological beings
whose name they have borrowed. In other words, if the real ásmegir
were of such a nature that they could be called hertharfir, then that
adjective would not serve to distinguish Hakon's men from them.
The word hertharfir means those who are needed in war, those
who are to be used in war. Consequently, the ásmegir are beings
who are not to be used in war, beings whose dwelling, environment,
and purpose suggest a realm of peace, from which the use of
weapons is banished.
Accordingly, the parallel presented in Einar's strophe, which we have
now discussed, is as follows:
Mythology. History.
Peaceful beings of the
lower world (ásmegir).
Warlike inhabitants of
the earth (hertharfir
ásmegir).
at the instigation of
their chief,
at the instigation of
their chief,
the sun-god Balder
(raudbríkar rækir),
the shield's Balder,
Hakon (hlakkar móts
raudbríkar rækir),
go to offer sacrifices. go to offer sacrifices.
The peaceful Balder is
thereby benefited.
The shield's Balder is
thereby benefited.
The earth grows green
again.
The earth grows green
again.
ok ásmegir, ok hertharfir ásmegir,
hverfa til blóta; hverfa til blóta
raudbrikar rikr rækir
fremst sliku.
hlakkar móts raudbríkar
rikr rækir fremst sliku.
Nú grær jördsem ádan. Nú grær jörd sem ádan.
In the background which Einar has given to his poetical paraphrase,
we thus have the myth telling how the sun-god Balder, on his
descent to the lower world, was strengthened by the soma-sacrifice
brought him by the ásmegir, and how he sent back with Hermod the
treasures of fertility which had gone with him and Nanna to the
lower world, and which restored the fertility of the earth.
To what category of beings do the ásmegir then belong? We have
seen the word applied as a technical term in a restricted sense. The
possibilities of application which the word with reference to its
definition supplies are:
(1) The word may be used in the purely physical sense of Asa-sons,
Asa-descendants. In this case the subterranean ásmegir would be by
their very descent members of that god-clan that resides in Asgard,
and whose father and clan-patriarch is Odin.
(2) The word can be applied to men. They are the children of the
Asa-father in a double sense: the first human pair was created by
Odin and his brothers (Völusp., 16, 17; Gylfag., 9), and their
offspring are also in a moral sense Odin's children, as they are
subject to his guidance and care. He is Alfather, and the father of the
succeeding generations (allfadir, aldafadir). A word resembling
ásmegir in character is ásasynir, and this is used in Allvismal, 16, in
a manner which shows that it does not refer to any of those
categories of beings that are called gods (see further, No. 62)[5] The
conception of men as sons of the gods is also implied in the all
mankind embracing phrase, megir Heimdallar (Völusp., 1), with
which the account of Rig-Heimdal's journey on the earth and visit to
the patriarchs of the various classes is connected.[6]
The true meaning of the word in this case is determined by the fact
that the ásmegir belong to the dwellers in the lower world already
before the death of Balder, and that Balder is the first one of the
Asas and sons of Odin who becomes a dweller in the lower world. To
this must be added, that if ásmegir meant Asas, Einar would never
have called the inhabitants of Norway, the subjects of jarl Hakon,
hertharfir ásmegir, for hertharfir the Asas are themselves, and that
in the highest degree. They constitute a body of more or less warlike
persons, who all have been needed in conflict in the wars around
Asgard and Midgard, and they all, Balder included, are gods of war
and victory. It would also have been malapropos to compare men
with Asas on an occasion when the former were represented as
bringing sacrifices to the gods; that is, as persons subordinate to
them and in need of their assistance.
The ásmegir are, therefore, human beings excluded from the surface
of the earth, from the mankind which dwell in Midgard, and are
inhabitants of the lower world, where they reside in a splendid castle
kept by the elf of dawn, Delling, and enjoy the society of Balder, who
descended to Hades. To subterranean human beings refers also
Grimnismal, 21, which says that men (mennzkir menn) dwell under
the roots of Ygdrasil; and Allvismal, 16 (to be compared with 18, 20,
and other passages), and Skirnersmal, 34, which calls them áslithar,
a word which Gudbrand Vigfusson has rightly assumed to be
identical with ásmegir.
Thus it is also demonstrated that the ásmegir are identical with the
subterranean human persons Lif and Leifthraser and their
descendants in Mimer's grove. The care with which the mythology
represents the citadel of the ásmegir kept, shown by the fact that
the elf Delling, the counterpart of Heimdal in the lower world, has
been entrusted with its keeping, is intelligible and proper when we
know that it is of the greatest importance to shield Lif and
Leifthraser's dwelling from all ills, sickness, age, and moral evil (see
above). It is also a beautiful poetic thought that it is the elf of the
morning dawn—he outside of whose door the song of awakening
and bliss is sung to the world—who has been appointed to watch
those who in the dawn of a new world shall people the earth with
virtuous and happy races. That the ásmegir in the lower world are
permitted to enjoy the society of Balder is explained by the fact that
Lif and Leifthraser and their offspring are after Ragnarok to
accompany Balder to dwell under his sceptre, and live a blameless
life corresponding to his wishes. They are to be his disciples,
knowing their master's commandments and having them written in
their hearts.
We have now seen that the ásmegir already before Balder's death
dwell in Mimer's grove. We have also seen that Svipdag on his
journey in the lower world had observed a castle, which he knew
belonged to the ásmegir. The mythology knows two fimbul-winters;
the former raged in time's morning, the other is to precede
Ragnarok. The former occurred when Freyja, the goddess of fertility,
was treacherously delivered into the power of the frost-giants and all
the air was blended with corruption (Völusp., 26); when there came
from the Elivogs stinging, ice-cold arrows of frost, which put men to
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American government 2017-2018 Ralph Baker

  • 1.
    American government 2017-2018Ralph Baker pdf download https://ebookmass.com/product/american- government-2017-2018-ralph-baker/ Explore and download more ebooks at ebookmass.com
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    Concept Clips Expanded tonow include audio, Concept Clips are engaging videos that walk students through the more difficult concepts in the American government course (such as the Electoral College, Supreme Court procedures, or how to evaluate a public opinion poll). Interactive Data Analysis Help your students consume political data in a meaningful way. Students in the American Government course now have the ability to interact with political data visualizations to gain insight into important factors that shape our political process. Students can review electoral turnout over time or contemplate how demographic shifts in the American population will impact future elections. These interactive charts and maps are paired with auto-grade and critical thinking questions to enhance student understanding. To learn more about American Government visit the McGraw-Hill Education American Government page: bit.ly/MHEAmGov “Connect keeps my students engaged and motivated. Requiring Connect assignments has improved student exam grades.” – Sophia Garcia, Tarrant County College “I really enjoy how it has gotten me engaged in the course and it is a great study tool without having to carry around a heavy textbook.” – Madeline Uretsky, Simmons College “I can honestly say that the first time I used SmartBook after reading a chapter I understood what I had just read better than I ever had in the past.” – Nathan Herrmann, Oklahoma State University of college students report that access to learning analytics can positively impact their learning experience. 87% 75% of students using adaptive technology report that it is “very helpful” or “extremely helpful” in aiding their ability to retain new concepts. Professors spend: 75% 90% Less time on administrative tasks More time on active learning
  • 5.
    AM GOV 2017–2018 JOSEPH LOSCO BallState University RALPH BAKER State College of Florida
  • 6.
    AMGOV 2017–2018, FIFTHEDITION Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121. Copyright © 2017 by McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Previous editions © 2015, 2013, and 2011. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education, including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 LWI 21 20 19 18 17 16 ISBN   978-1-259-44493-7 MHID 1-259-44493-7 Chief Product Officer, SVP Products & Markets: G. Scott Virkler Vice President, General Manager, Products & Markets: Mike Ryan Vice President, Content Design & Delivery: Betsy Whalen Managing Director: Gina Boedeker Brand Manager: Jason Seitz Director, Product Development: Meghan Campbell Lead Product Developer: Dawn Groundwater Marketing Manager: Alexandra Hodges Market Development Manager: Stacy Ruel Senior Product Developer: Sarah Colwell Director, Content Design & Delivery: Linda Avenarius Program Manager: Marianne Musni Content Project Managers: Rick Hecker/George Theofanopoulos Buyer: Debra Jennifer Pickel Design: Matt Diamond Content Licensing Specialists: Lori Slattery/Ann Marie Jannette Cover Image: MOONkey/Getty Images Compositor: SPi Global Printer: LSC Communications All credits not appearing on page are author provided. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Losco, Joseph, author. | Baker, Ralph, 1942- author. Title: Am gov 2017–2018 / Joseph Losco, Bowen Center for Public Affairs, Ball State University, Ralph Baker, State College of Florida. Other titles: American government 2017-2018 Description: Fifth edition. | New York, NY : McGraw-Hill Education, 2016. Identifiers: LCCN 2016040834 | ISBN 9781259444937 (paperback) Subjects: LCSH: United States—Politics and government—Textbooks. | BISAC: POLITICAL SCIENCE / Government / National. Classification: LCC JK276 .L67 2016 | DDC 320.473—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016040834 The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a website does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill Education, and McGraw-Hill Education does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites. mheducation.com/highered
  • 7.
    Brief Contents •v Brief Contents AM GOV 1 Citizenship: In Our Changing Democracy 1 2 The Constitution: The Foundation of Citizens’ Rights 16 3 Federalism: Citizenship and The Dispersal Of Power 40 4 Civil Liberties: Citizens’ Rights versus Security 66 5 Civil Rights: Toward a More Equal Citizenry 102 6 Public Opinion 136 7 Political Participation: Equal Opportunities and Unequal Voices 161 8 Interest Groups in America 189 9 Parties and Political Campaigns: Putting Democracy into Action 218 10 Media: Tuning in or Tuning Out 249 11 Congress: Doing the People’s Business 283 12 The Presidency: Power and Paradox 322 13 Bureaucracy: Citizens as Owners and Consumers 362 14 The Courts: Judicial Power in a Democratic Setting 388 15 Public Policy: Responding to Citizens 417 16 Foreign and Defense Policy: Protecting American Interests in the World 444 (© Robyn Beck/Getty Images) (© Robert W. Kelley/The LIFE Images Collection/ Getty Images) (© Getty Images RF)
  • 8.
    THE BIRTH OFA NATION 21 The Articles of Confederation: A Document Whose Time Had Come and Gone 21 The Road to Philadelphia 23 Constitutional Convention 23 Regional Tensions: Slavery and the Three-fifths Compromise 24 CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES 25 Liberal Democratic Principles 26 Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances 27 Federalism 27 CONSTITUTIONAL CONSTRUCTION 28 THE FIGHT FOR RATIFICATION 29 Antifederalist Opposition 29 The Battle in the States 30 Making Good on a Promise: The Bill of Rights 31 CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE 33 Amending the Constitution 33 Institutional Adaptation 35 Judicial Review 35 Expanding the Franchise 36 THE CONSTITUTION AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TODAY 37 Federalism: Citizenship and the Dispersal of Power 40 Pot Wars 40 THE DIVISION OF POWER 42 Prevailing Models for Dispersing Power 42 The Federalist Solution 42 THE EVOLUTION OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS 45 The National Government Asserts Itself: 1789–1832 45 Dual Federalism, Disunion, and War: 1832–1865 47 Federalism in the Age of Commerce: 1865–1932 47 The New Deal and the Growth of National Power: 1932–1937 49 3 Citizenship: In Our Changing Democracy 1 Millennials: Finding their Voices 1 POLITICS, POWER, AND PARTICIPATION 3 Types of Government 4 Political Power 5 Participation and Democracy 6 AMERICAN POLITICAL IDEALS 8 THE CHANGING FACE OF THE AMERICAN CITIZENRY 9 Growing Diversity 9 Growing Older 10 Growing Apart 10 THE FUTURE OF CITIZENSHIP 12 The Constitution: The Foundation of Citizens’ Rights 16 A Couple’s Fight for Constitutional Rights 16 THE FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 17 Early Colonization 18 The Colonists Respond to Economic Pressures 19 Colonists Mobilize for Action: The Continental Congress 20 Declaration of Independence 20 2 Contents 1 (© Sandy Macys/Alamy Stock Photo)
  • 9.
    Contents • vii Congressand Religious Freedom 73 Establishment Clause 74 Religion and Public Schools 76 Religious Use of Public School Facilities and Funds 76 Prayer in School 77 Aid to Religious Schools 77 Government Endorsement of Religion 77 FREEDOM OF SPEECH 78 Political Speech 78 Campaign Speech 79 Commercial Speech 81 Symbolic Speech 81 Boundaries of Free Speech 82 Obscenity 82 Defamation 82 Hate Speech 83 FREEDOM OF THE PRESS 83 Prior Restraint 84 Government Control of Media Content 84 Special Rights 85 FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION 85 Freedom of Assembly 86 Freedom of Association 86 Cooperative Federalism: 1937–1960s 49 Creative Federalism: 1960s–1970s 50 New Federalism and the Devolution of Power: 1980–Present 51 FEDERAL–STATE RELATIONS 54 Fiscal Relations 54 Political Relations 56 Constitutional Issues 57 INTERSTATE RELATIONS 61 Cooperation and Competition 61 Innovation in the States 61 FEDERALISM AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TODAY 64 Civil Liberties: Citizens’ Rights versus Security 66 Champions of our Rights 66 HERITAGE OF RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES 69 The Constitution and Rights 69 The Bill of Rights 70 Incorporation 71 The Modern Emphasis on Rights 71 FREEDOM OF RELIGION 72 Free Exercise Clause 73 4 (© Amos Aikman/Getty Images)
  • 10.
    viii • AMGOV The Civil War and Reconstruction 107 Segregation 108 Voting Barriers 110 NAACP 110 Modern Era of Civil Rights 111 Civil Rights Mobilization 112 Civil Rights Legislation 113 Retrospective 114 INTERPRETING EQUALITY 114 Judicial Tests 115 Affirmative Action 115 Racial Classifications 116 Current Impact on Education 116 Continuing Controversy 117 OTHER MINORITY GROUPS 118 Native Americans 118 Hispanic Americans 119 Asian Americans 121 Disabled Americans 122 American Seniors 122 RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS 87 RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED 88 The Fourth Amendment: Searches and Seizures 89 The Fifth Amendment: Self-Incrimination 90 The Sixth Amendment: Right to Counsel 91 The Sixth Amendment: Trial by Jury 93 The Eighth Amendment: Cruel and Unusual Punishment 94 RIGHT TO PRIVACY 96 Abortion 96 The Right to Die 97 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTIES 99 Civil Rights: Toward a More Equal Citizenry 102 Housing Discrimination in America 102 AFRICAN AMERICANS AND CIVIL RIGHTS 106 Slavery 106 Dred Scott 107 5 (© Bettmann/Corbis via Getty Images)
  • 11.
    Contents • ix Trustin Government 153 Political Efficacy 154 Support for Democratic Values 154 Political Ideologies 154 PUBLIC OPINION AND PUBLIC POLICY 157 PUBLIC OPINION AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TODAY 158 Political Participation: Equal Opportunities and Unequal Voices 161 Millennials Rising 161 POLITICAL PARTICIPATION: OPPORTUNITIES, COSTS, AND BENEFITS 163 CHARACTERISTICS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 164 Amount of Information Conveyed 165 Variation in Frequency and Strength of Messages Conveyed 166 INGREDIENTS FOR INVOLVEMENT 166 Access to Resources 166 Political Engagement 169 Mobilization 170 VOTING 171 Who Votes? Who Doesn’t? 172 7 Gay and Lesbian Americans 123 WOMEN AND CIVIL RIGHTS 126 Women’s Mobilization Eras 127 Early Women’s Movement: 1840–1875 127 The Suffrage Movement: 1890–1920 128 The Second Women’s Rights Movement: 1961–Present 128 Current Issues 130 Workplace Equity 130 Sexual Harassment 131 Women’s Role in the Military 132 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND CIVIL RIGHTS 133 Public Opinion 136 Public Opinion in Black and White 136 UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC OPINION IN THE CONTEXT OF AMERICAN POLITICS 138 The Nature of Public Opinion 138 Changes in Assessing and Using Public Opinion 139 HOW POLITICAL OPINIONS ARE FORMED 140 The Process of Socialization 140 Agents of Political Socialization 140 GROUP DIFFERENCES IN POLITICAL OPINIONS 144 Racial and Ethnic Identity 144 Gender 145 Geography 146 MEASURING PUBLIC OPINION 147 Dimensions of Public Opinion 147 Types of Polls 148 POLLING TECHNIQUES 148 Who Is Asked? Selecting the Sample 148 What Is Asked? Paying Attention to the Questions 151 THE CONTENT OF AMERICAN PUBLIC OPINION 151 Political Knowledge 152 Confidence in Government Institutions 153 6 (© AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
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  • 13.
    x • AMGOV THE ROOTS OF INTEREST GROUP POLITICS IN AMERICA 193 Interest Groups on the Rise 193 The Advocacy Explosion 194 WHOSE INTERESTS ARE REPRESENTED? 196 Who Has the Numbers? 196 Who Has the Money? 196 Whose Interests Are Not Represented? 198 WHY JOIN? 198 Monetary Incentives 198 Social Incentives 199 Idealist Incentives 199 Assessing Motives 199 INTEREST GROUP STRATEGIES 200 LOBBYING AND OTHER TACTICS 201 Lobbying 201 Financing Campaigns 206 Accessing the Courts 210 Grassroots Mobilization 211 Coalition Formation 214 Protests 214 INTEREST GROUPS AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TODAY 215 Parties and Political Campaigns: Putting Democracy into Action 218 The Best-Laid Plans . . .   218 POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTORAL POLITICS 220 The Nature of Parties in America 220 Why Two Parties? 221 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF OUR TWO-PARTY SYSTEM 224 The Evolution of American Political Parties: Five Party Systems 224 1968 to Present 226 9 VOTERS IN THE ELECTORAL PROCESS: HOW AMERICANS DECIDE 176 Party Choice 176 Issues 177 Candidate Characteristics 179 OTHER FORMS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 180 Beyond Voting: Activities That Require More Time 180 Beyond Voting: Activities That Require More Skill 182 Beyond Voting: Activities That Require Money 183 THE IMPACT OF PARTICIPATION PATTERNS ON POLICY 185 PARTICIPATION AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TODAY 186 Interest Groups in America 189 Courting the Gun Lobby in their Race for the White House 189 ORGANIZED INTERESTS: WHO ARE THEY? 192 Neighbors or Adversaries? 192 Distinctive Features 192 8 (© Scott Olson/Getty Images)
  • 14.
    Contents • xi Media:Tuning in or Tuning Out 249 Trumping the Media 249 EVOLVING CIVIC LIFE AND MEDIA CHANGES 252 Early Days 252 Partisan Press 252 Penny Press 253 Yellow Journalism 253 Broadcast Media 254 The Media Today 255 THE MEDIA ENVIRONMENT IN AMERICA 259 Private Ownership 259 Government Regulation 259 Ownership Limits 260 Content Regulation 260 Emphasis on Entertainment 260 Adversarial Journalism 261 Political Bias? 262 10 Party Realignment 227 Parties Today: Poles Apart 228 BUILT TO WIN: PARTY STRUCTURE 231 National Committees 231 Congressional and Senatorial Campaign Committees 234 State Committees 234 Local Party Organizations 235 Working Together 236 THIRD PARTIES AND INDEPENDENT CANDIDACIES 236 CANDIDATES AND ELECTORAL POLITICS 238 Show Me the Money 238 Where Does All the Money Go? 242 Candidates and the Parties 242 Candidate Communication and Voter Mobilization 244 PARTIES, POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS, AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TODAY 246 (© Reuters/Evan Semo)
  • 15.
    xii • AMGOV Midterm Elections 291 Redistricting 292 DOING THE JOB: RESPONSIBILITIES AND BENEFITS 295 Representing the People 295 Pay and Perks 296 Keeping in Touch with Voters: Home-Style Politics 297 WORKING WITH OTHERS 298 Dealing with Organized Interests 298 Personal Staff 299 Professional Congressional Committee and Agency Staff 300 Colleagues 300 Getting Along 302 KEYS TO POLITICAL POWER 302 The Committee System 302 Party 305 Position 306 Procedures 310 THE POWERS OF CONGRESS 311 Lawmaking 311 Declaring War 314 Impeachment 315 Investigation and Oversight 316 Budgeting 317 Senatorial Powers 317 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND CONGRESS TODAY 319 The Presidency: Power and Paradox 322 Insurgency and its Aftermath 322 ORIGIN AND POWERS OF THE PRESIDENCY 324 Constitutional Provisions 324 Crafting the Office: From Washington to Roosevelt 325 The Modern Presidency 326 THE PATH TO THE PRESIDENCY 327 12 MEDIA AND POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS 264 Free Media 265 Presidential Debates 265 Paid Media 268 The Internet 269 Game Coverage 270 Character Issues: Probing Personal Lives 271 Election Night Coverage 271 GOVERNMENT COVERAGE IN THE MEDIA 273 Covering the President 273 Covering Congress 276 Covering the Supreme Court 277 THE MEDIA AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TODAY 277 Congress: Doing the People’s Business 283 Order in the House . . . 283 ORIGIN AND POWERS OF CONGRESS 285 CIVIC LIFE AND CONGRESSIONAL CHANGE 286 Building the Institution 287 The Era of Reform 287 The Resurgent Executive Branch 288 The Rights Revolution and Partisan Polarization 288 GETTING ELECTED 289 Resources 290 The Incumbency Factor 290 11 (© Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
  • 16.
    Contents • xiii ASSESSINGPRESIDENTIAL POWER AND ITS LIMITS 357 THE VICE PRESIDENCY 358 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND THE PRESIDENCY TODAY 359 Bureaucracy: Citizens as Owners and Consumers 362 Student Loans, Debt, and Bureaucracy 362 BUREAUCRATIC CHANGES AND EVOLVING CIVIC LIFE 365 Growth of Bureaucracy 365 The Early Bureaucracy 366 The Reform Era 367 Bureaucracy Today 367 THE NATURE OF BUREAUCRACY 368 FEDERAL BUREAUCRATS AND THEIR WORK 369 Who Are They? 369 What Do They Do? 372 Organization of the Federal Bureaucracy 375 13 GETTING ELECTED 327 Fundraising 327 Primary Sweepstakes 329 Party Conventions 331 The General Election 332 PRESIDENTIAL POWER 337 Chief Executive 337 Commander in Chief 341 Chief Diplomat 343 Chief of State 345 Lawmaker 346 PRESIDENTIAL ROLES 348 Party Leader 349 Economic Leader 349 Opinion Leader 350 THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH 351 Cabinet 351 Executive Office of the President 352 PRESIDENTIAL STYLE 355 (© George Diebold/Photographer’s Choice /Getty Images RF)
  • 17.
    xiv • AMGOV SOURCES OF BUREAUCRATIC POWER 378 External Support 379 Expertise and Discretion 379 Longevity and Vitality 382 Leadership 383 CONTROLLING BUREAUCRATIC POWER 383 Congressional Controls 383 Presidential Controls 384 Judicial Controls 385 Whistle-Blowing 386 THE BUREAUCRACY AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT 386 The Courts: Judicial Power in a Democratic Setting 388 The Supreme Court and Partisan Conflict 388 NATIONAL COURT STRUCTURE 391 District Courts 393 United States Courts of Appeals 393 United States Supreme Court 393 Specialized Courts 394 NATURE OF THE JUDICIAL PROCESS 394 Common Law 394 Judicial Review 395 Civil and Criminal Law 395 Judicial Requirements 396 Real Cases and Controversies 397 14 CHANGING NATURE OF THE SUPREME COURT 398 The Early Court 398 The Court, Business, and Social Welfare 399 The Court and Personal Rights 399 SUPREME COURT DECISION MAKING 399 Agenda Decisions 400 Voting Decisions 401 Explaining Decisions 403 Implementing Decisions 403 Understanding Decisions 404 SUPREME COURT SELECTION 406 Nomination 407 Nomination Criteria 407 Senate Confirmation 410 LOWER COURT SELECTION 411 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND THE JUDICIARY 412 Public Policy: Responding to Citizens 417 Whatever Happened to the Middle Class? 417 THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF PUBLIC POLICY 419 POLICYMAKING AND EVALUATION 419 Problem Recognition 419 Agenda Setting 420 Policy Formation 420 Policy Adoption 421 Policy Implementation 421 Policy Evaluation 422 Explaining Policy Outcomes 422 DOMESTIC POLICY 423 Protecting the Environment 423 Helping the Poor 428 ECONOMIC POLICY 433 Fiscal Policy 434 Monetary Policy 437 Global Economic Policy 440 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY TODAY 442 15 (© Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
  • 18.
    Contents • xv Foreignand Defense Policy: Protecting American Interests in the World 444 The Quest for Security in an Uncertain World 444 DEFENSE AND FOREIGN POLICY IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 445 Finding a Place in the World 446 Becoming an International Power 446 The Nuclear Age 447 The Growing Threat of Terrorism 449 DEFENDING U.S. INTERESTS IN A CONSTANTLY CHANGING WORLD 451 Defining National Interests 451 Understanding Nation-State Dynamics: Foreign Policy Theories 452 MAKING FOREIGN POLICY 453 The Primacy of the Executive Branch 453 Congress’s Role 457 Other Actors 459 The Public’s Role 459 16 TOOLS OF FOREIGN POLICY 460 Military Power 460 Diplomacy 461 Foreign Aid 462 Working with International Partners 463 CONFRONTING THE FUTURE 464 The Terrorist Threat 465 The Nuclear Threat 467 Threats Posed by Regional Conflicts 468 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND FOREIGN POLICY TODAY 471 Appendix The Declaration of Independence 475 The Constitution of the United States of America 477 Federalist No. 10 (James Madison) 492 Federalist No. 51 (James Madison) 495 Glossary 497 Endnotes 506 Index 525 (© Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
  • 19.
    xvi • AMGOV AM GOV was created with one simple premise in mind: Students will learn only if the content is engaging and current, if the design is visually attractive, and if the price is affordable. With this premise in mind, we, the authors, set out to discover from you—students and faculty—how best to create a program that students would read and fac- ulty would eagerly assign. We interviewed dozens of faculty and hundreds of students at colleges through- out the country. Students told us they wanted resources with innovative visual appeal, interactive digital tech- nology, an integrated approach, and relevant content designed according to the way they learn. Instructors told us they wanted a way to engage their students without compromising on high-quality content. We listened. The result is AM GOV, an American government program that started a revolution. Our goal in AM GOV is to engage students in the story of people’s relationship to government and how an active and informed citizenry is essential in making democ- racy meaningful. We want students to recognize how their choices about govern- ment affect their lives. AM GOV marries our commitment to scholarly content with the value that cur- rency, presentation, adaptive technology, and reasonable price have for students. Frequent updates of both political events and scholarship keep the program vital and relevant. We gave AM GOV this visually rich design because our research taught us that, in our visual culture, it makes student learning excel and American government memorable. Students even gave AM GOV its name. And we continue to listen. Using the latest technology to track student usage and comprehension, AM GOV pinpoints those content areas students find most challenging with heat maps. This technology is used to help us rework presen- tations to make the material more comprehensible and meaningful to students. Available adaptive technologies, like LearnSmart® and SmartBook®, put students in control of the learning experience, allowing them to learn from peer responses and create a personal reading experience that’s all their own. You started AM GOV. You convinced us that there had to be a better way to get across the fundamental concepts of American democracy and what it means to be an American citizen. We listened. And we continue to learn from you. What’s in AM GOV Ralph Baker, State College of Florida, and Joseph Losco, Ball State University.
  • 20.
    About the Authors• xvii Joseph Losco is professor of political science at Ball State University and Director of the Bowen Center for Public Affairs. He teaches courses in political theory and American government. Losco has published in the areas of public policy and politi- cal theory. His publications include Political Theory: Classic and Contemporary Readings (Oxford Press) and Human. Nature and Politics, co-edited with Albert Somit (JAI Press). At the Bowen Center, Losco directs the annual Hoosier Survey of public opinion and shares responsibility for the Voting System Technical Oversight Program (VSTOP) which conducts voting system studies for the Indiana Secretary of State. His research has been funded by grants from the Pew Charitable Trusts and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Losco received his B.A. and M.A. from Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. from Temple University. He has been married to his wife Marcia for over 40 years and has a son, Michael, who practices international arbitration law in New York City. Ralph Baker is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the State College of Florida where he teaches courses in Introduction to American Government. Before moving to Florida, he was a political science professor at Ball State University spe- cializing in American government, constitutional law, constitutional liberties, judicial politics, criminal justice policy, and media and politics. Raised in central Illinois, he attended Bradley University for his undergraduate degree and the University of Illinois for his M.A. and Ph.D. He is the author of numerous books and articles including the The Criminal Justice Game, Evaluating Alternative Law Enforcement Policies, Determinants of Law Enforcement Policies, State Policy Problems, and Women Government Officials in Indiana and articles concerning the Supreme Court, gender policy, the chilly cli- mate in academia, media and politics, and police professionalism. With Joe Losco, Baker produced over twenty political science videos that resulted in Telly Awards for “ The 1996 Campaign,” “The 2000 Campaign,” and an Axiem Award for “Case Studies in American Government.” At Ball State University, Baker won the Outstanding Teacher Award and served several terms as the President of the Indiana Political Science Association. About the Authors
  • 21.
    xviii • AMGOV Foundational Content and AM GOV is a relatable, informative, and visual introduction to American politics. Designed with today’s students in mind, AM GOV is a concise, magazine style pro- gram that teaches students how to think critically, and politically. With an emphasis on current events, AM GOV engages its readers through approachable content and digital tools that are proven to help students better understand and connect with the concepts and language used in the American Government course. Better Data, Smarter Revision, Improved Results Students helped inform the revision strategy: STEP 1. Over the course of three years, data points showing concepts that caused students the most difficulty were anonymously collected from McGraw-Hill Education’s Connect® American Government’s LearnSmart for AM GOV. STEP 2. The data from LearnSmart was provided to the authors in the form of a Heat Map, which graphically illustrated “hot spots” in the text that impacted student learning (see image to left). STEP 3. The authors used the Heat Map data to refine the content and reinforce student comprehension in the new edition. Additional quiz questions and assignable activities were created for use in Connect American Government to further support student success. RESULT: Because the Heat Map gave the authors empirically based feedback at the paragraph and even sentence level, they was able to develop the new edition using precise student data that pinpointed concepts that caused students the most difficulty. Heat map data also informs the activities and assessments in Connect American Government, McGraw-Hill Education’s assignable and assessable learning platform. Where the Heat map data shows students struggle with specific learning objectives or concepts, we created new Connect assets— Concept Clips, Applied Critical Thinking (ACT), and NewsFlash current event activities—to provide another avenue for students to learn and master the content. For example, less than 50% of students showed mastery of the Learning Objective: Explain the legislative process. In response we added: • A new Concept Clip - How does a bill become a law? • A new ACT assignment – Who is your member of the House of Representatives? • A related NewsFlash current event article Fueled by LearnSmart, SmartBook is the first and only adaptive reading experi- ence currently available. Make It Effective. SmartBook creates a personalized reading experience by high- lighting the most impactful concepts a student needs to learn at that moment in time. This ensures that every minute spent with SmartBook is returned to the student as the most value added minute possible. Make It Informed. The reading experience continuously adapts by highlight- ing content based on what the student knows and doesn’t know. Real-time reports
  • 22.
    Preface • xix DigitalTools Designed for Today’s Student quickly identify the concepts that require more attention from individual students—or the entire class. SmartBook detects the content a student is most likely to forget and brings it back to improve long-term knowledge retention. Informing and Engaging Students on American Government Concepts Using Connect American Government, student can learn the course material more deeply and study more effectively than ever before. At the remember and understand levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, Concept Clips help students break down key concepts in American Government. Using easy-to-under- stand audio narration, visual cues, and colorful animations, Concept Clips provide a step-by-step presentation that aid in student retention. New Concept Clips for this edi- tion include the following: • Explaining ideology • Constitutional compromises • Right of privacy • Restrictions on voting • Political socialization • Realignment of parties • Interest groups • Legislative process • Presidential powers • Supreme Court procedures Also at the remember and understand levels of Bloom’s, Newsflash exercises tie current news stories to key American government concepts and learning objectives. After interacting with a contemporary news story, students are assessed on their ability to make the connections between real life events and course content. Examples include the 2016 election results, transgender bathroom bills, and aftermath of Justice Antonin Scalia’s death. At the apply, analyze, and evaluate levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, critical thinking activities allow students to engage with the political process and learn by doing. Examples are: - Quiz: What is your political ideology? - Poll: Americans Confidence in the Police - Research: Find your Senator - Infographic: Compare the Courts Interactive Data Analysis activities should be added here at the apply, analyze, evaluate levels. Examples include: - U.S. Population by Race - Confidence in Government Institutions - Independent Expenditures by Election - Incumbency Advantage
  • 23.
    Visit https://ebookmass.com todayto explore a vast collection of ebooks across various genres, available in popular formats like PDF, EPUB, and MOBI, fully compatible with all devices. Enjoy a seamless reading experience and effortlessly download high- quality materials in just a few simple steps. Plus, don’t miss out on exciting offers that let you access a wealth of knowledge at the best prices!
  • 24.
    Exploring the Varietyof Random Documents with Different Content
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    The Project GutenbergeBook of Teutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the Northland, Vol. 2
  • 29.
    This ebook isfor the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: Teutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the Northland, Vol. 2 Author: Viktor Rydberg Translator: Rasmus Björn Anderson Release date: February 4, 2019 [eBook #58829] Language: English Credits: Produced by Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY: GODS AND GODDESSES OF THE NORTHLAND, VOL. 2 ***
  • 30.
    Teutonic Mythology Gods andGoddesses of the Northland IN THREE VOLUMES
  • 31.
    By VIKTOR RYDBERG,Ph.D., MEMBER OF THE SWEDISH ACADEMY; AUTHOR OF THE LAST ATHENIAN AND OTHER WORKS. AUTHORISED TRANSLATION FROM THE SWEDISH BY RASMUS B. ANDERSON, LL.D., EX-UNITED STATES MINISTER TO DENMARK; AUTHOR OF NORSE MYTHOLOGY, VIKING TALES, ETC. HON. RASMUS B. ANDERSON, LL.D., Ph.D., EDITOR IN CHIEF. J. W. BUEL, Ph.D., MANAGING EDITOR. VOL. II. PUBLISHED BY THE NORRŒNA SOCIETY, LONDON COPENHAGEN STOCKHOLM BERLIN NEW YORK 1906 OF THE Viking Edition There are but six hundred and fifty sets made for the world, of which this is No. 99
  • 32.
    COPYRIGHT, T. H. SMART, 1905. VALKYRIESBRINGING THE BODY OF A SLAIN WARRIOR TO VALHALLA (From an etching by Lorenz Frölich.)
  • 33.
    Heimdal, the godof light, father of men, sire of kings, was warder of the gates of Valhalla and lived in a castle at the end of the rainbow (Bifröst bridge). He possessed a trumpet called Gjallarhorn with which he summoned together the gods at Ragnarok. He is represented as the zealous gate-keeper who received and admitted to Valhalla the bodies of warriors slain in battle, when brought hence by Valkyrie maidens who gathered them from battle-fields. Valhalla was the abode of Odin in Asgard which was situated in Gladsheim, the valley of joy. In this paradise dead warriors were revived and spent all after-time fighting, feasting, and drinking as the guests of Odin, pursuing those pleasures that most delighted them when in the flesh.
  • 34.
    TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY. TABLE OFCONTENTS. VOLUME TWO Page Myth in Regard to the Lower World 353 Myth Concerning Mimer's Grove 379 Mimer's Grove and Regeneration of the World 389 Gylfaginning's Cosmography 395 The Word Hel in Linguistic Usage 406 Border Mountain Between Hel and Nifelhel 414 Description of Nifelhel 426 Who the Inhabitants of Hel are 440 The Classes of Beings in Hel 445 The Kingdom of Death 447 Valkyries, Psycho-messengers of Diseases 457 The Way of Those who Fall by the Sword 462 Risting with the Spear-point 472 Loke's Daughter, Hel 476 Way to Hades Common to the Dead 482 The Doom of the Dead 485 The Looks of the Thingstead 505 The Hades Drink 514 The Hades Horn Embellished with Serpents 521 The Lot of the Blessed 528
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    Arrival at theNa-gates 531 The Places of Punishment 534 The Hall in Nastrands 540 Loke's Cave of Punishment 552 The Great World-Mill 565 The World-Mill makes the Constellations Revolve 579 Origin of the Sacred Fire 586 Mundilfore's Identity with Lodur 601 Nat, Mother of the Gods 608 Narfi, Nat's Father 611 Giant Clans Descended from Ymer 624 Identity of Mimer and Nidhad 630 Review of Mimer's Names and Epithets 641 The Mead Myth 644 The Moon and the Mead 669 Myths of the Moon-God 680
  • 36.
    LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURES. Page VOL.II. Valkyries Bringing the Body of a Slain Warrior to Valhalla Frontispiece Thor Destroys the Giant Thrym 456 The Punishment of Loke 552 Gefion and King Gylphi 616
  • 37.
    THE MYTH INREGARD TO THE LOWER WORLD. (Part IV. Continued from Volume I.) 53. AT WHAT TIME DID LIF AND LEIFTHRASER GET THEIR PLACE OF REFUGE IN MIMER'S GROVE? THE ASMEGIR. MIMER'S POSITION IN MYTHOLOGY. THE NUMINA OF THE LOWER WORLD. It is necessary to begin this investigation by pointing out the fact that there are two versions of the last line of strophe 45 in Vafthrudnersmal. The version of this line quoted above was—enn thadan af aldir alaz: Thence (from Lif and Leifthraser in Mimer's grove) races are born. Codex Upsalensis has instead—ok thar um alldr alaz: And they (Lif and Leifthraser) have there (in Mimer's grove) their abiding place through ages. Of course only the one of these versions can, from a text-historical standpoint, be the original one. But this does not hinder both from being equally legitimate from a mythological standpoint, providing both date from a time when the main features of the myth about Lif and Leifthraser were still remembered. Examples of versions equally justifiable from a mythological standpoint can be cited from other literatures than the Norse. If we in the choice between the two versions pay regard only to the age of the manuscripts, then the one in Codex Upsalensis, which is copied about the year 1300,[1] has the preference. It would, however, hardly be prudent to put the chief emphasis on this fact. Without drawing any conclusions, I simply point out the fact that the oldest version we possess of the passage says that Lif and Leifthraser live through ages in Mimer's grove. Nor is the other version much younger, so far as the manuscript in which it is found
  • 38.
    is concerned, andfrom a mythological standpoint that, too, is beyond doubt correct. In two places in the poetic Edda (Vegtamskv, 7, and Fjolsvinnsm., 33) occurs the word ásmegir. Both times it is used in such a manner that we perceive that it is a mythological terminus technicus having a definite, limited application. What this application was is not known. It is necessary to make a most thorough analysis of the passages in order to find the signification of this word again, since it is of importance to the subject which we are discussing. I shall begin with the passage in Fjolsvinnsmal. The young Svipdag, the hero in Grogalder and in Fjolsvinnsmal, is in the latter poem represented as standing before the gate of a citadel which he never saw before, but within the walls of which the maid whom fate has destined to be his wife resides. Outside of the gate is a person who is or pretends to be the gate-keeper, and calls himself Fjolsvinn. He and Svipdag enter into conversation. The conversation turns chiefly upon the remarkable objects which Svipdag has before his eyes. Svipdag asks questions about them, and Fjolsvinn gives him information. But before Svipdag came to the castle, within which his chosen one awaits him, he has made a remarkable journey (alluded to in Grogalder), and he has seen strange things (thus in str. 9, 11, 33) which he compares with those which he now sees, and in regard to which he also desires information from Fjolsvinn. When the questions concern objects which are before him at the time of speaking, he employs, as the logic of language requires, the present tense of the verb (as in strophe 35—segdu mèr hvat that bjarg heitir, er ek sè brudi á). When he speaks of what he has seen before and elsewhere, he employs the past tense of the verb. In strophe 33 he says: Segdu mér that, Fjölsvidr, er ek thik fregna mun ok ek vilja vita; hverr that gördi,
  • 39.
    er ek fyrgard sák innan ásmaga? Tell me that which I ask you, and which I wish to know, Fjolsvinn: Who made that which I saw within the castle wall of the ásmegir? [2] Fjolsvinn answers (str. 34): Uni ok Iri, Bari ok Ori, Varr ok Vegdrasil, Dori ok Uri; Dellingr ok vardar lithsci alfr, loki. Une and Ire, Bare and Ore, Var and Vegdrasil, Dore and Ure, Delling, the cunning elf, is watchman at the gate.[3] Thus Svipdag has seen a place where beings called ásmegir dwell. It is well enclosed and guarded by the elf Delling. The myth must have laid great stress on the fact that the citadel was well guarded, since Delling, whose cunning is especially emphasised, has been entrusted with this task. The citadel must also have been distinguished for its magnificence and for other qualities, since what Svipdag has seen within its gates has awakened his astonishment and admiration, and caused him to ask Fjolsvinn about the name of its builder. Fjolsvinn enumerates not less than eight architects. At least three of these are known by name in other sources—namely, the dwarfs Var (Sn. Edda, ii. 470, 553), Dore, and Ore. Both the last-named are also found in the list of dwarfs incorporated in Völuspa. Both are said to be dwarfs in Dvalin's group of attendants or servants (i Dvalins lidi— Völuspa, 14). The problem to the solution of which I am struggling on—namely, to find the explanation of what beings those are which are called ásmegir—demands first of all that we should find out where the
  • 40.
    myth located theirdwelling seen by Svipdag, a fact which is of mythological importance in other respects. This result can be gained, providing Dvalin's and Delling's real home and the scene of their activity can be determined. This is particularly important in respect to Delling, since his office as gate-keeper at the castle of the ásmegir demands that he must have his home where his duties are required. To some extent this is also true of Dvalin, since the field of his operations cannot have been utterly foreign to the citadel on whose wonders his sub-artists laboured. The author of the dwarf-list in Völuspa makes all holy powers assemble to consult as to who shall create the dwarfs, the artist- clan of the mythology. The wording of strophe 10 indicates that on a being by name Modsognir, Motsognir, was bestowed the dignity of chief[4] of the proposed artist-clan, and that he, with the assistance of Durin (Durinn), carried out the resolution of the gods, and created dwarfs resembling men. The author of the dwarf list must have assumed— That Modsogner was one of the older beings of the world, for the assembly of gods here in question took place in the morning of time before the creation was completed. That Modsogner possessed a promethean power of creating. That he either belonged to the circle of holy powers himself, or stood in a close and friendly relation to them, since he carried out the resolve of the gods. Accordingly, we should take Modsogner to be one of the more remarkable characters of the mythology. But either he is not mentioned anywhere else than in this place—we look in vain for the name Modsogner elsewhere—or this name is merely a skaldic epithet, which has taken the place of a more common name, and which by reference to a familiar nota characteristica indicates a mythic person well known and mentioned elsewhere. It cannot be disputed that the word looks like an epithet. Egilsson (Lex. Poet.)
  • 41.
    defines it asthe mead-drinker. If the definition is correct, then the epithet were badly chosen if it did not refer to Mimer, who originally was the sole possessor of the mythic mead, and who daily drank of it (Völuspa, 29—dreckr miód Mimir morgin hverjan). Still nothing can be built simply on the definition of a name, even if it is correct beyond a doubt. All the indices which are calculated to shed light on a question should be collected and examined. Only when they all point in the same direction, and give evidence in favour of one and the same solution of the problem, the latter can be regarded as settled. Several of the dwarfs created by Modsogner are named in Völuspa, 11-13. Among them are Dvalin. In the opinion of the author of the list of dwarfs, Dvalin must have occupied a conspicuous place among the beings to whom he belongs, for he is the only one of them all who is mentioned as having a number of his own kind as subjects (Völuspa, 14). The problem as to whether Modsogner is identical with Mimer should therefore be decided by the answers to the following questions: Is that which is narrated about Modsogner also narrated of Mimer? Do the statements which we have about Dvalin show that he was particularly connected with Mimer and with the lower world, the realm of Mimer? Of Modsogner it is said (Völuspa, 12) that he was mæstr ordinn dverga allra: he became the chief of all dwarfs, or, in other words, the foremost among all artists. Have we any similar report of Mimer? The German middle-age poem, Biterolf, relates that its hero possessed a sword, made, by Mimer the Old, Mime der alte, who was the most excellent smith in the world. To be compared with him was not even Wieland (Volund, Wayland), still less anyone else, with the one exception of Hertrich, who was Mimer's co-labourer, and assisted him in making all the treasures he produced: Zuo siner (Mimer's) meisterschefte ich nieman kan gelichen in allen fürsten richen
  • 42.
    an einen, denich nenne, daz man in dar bi erkenne: Der war Hertrich genant. ... Durch ir sinne craft so hæten sie geselleschaft an werke und an allen dingen. (Biterolf, 144.) Vilkinasaga, which is based on both German and Norse sources, states that Mimer was an artist, in whose workshop the sons of princes and the most famous smiths learned the trade of the smith. Among his apprentices are mentioned Velint (Volund), Sigurd-Sven, and Eckihard. These echoes reverberating far down in Christian times of the myth about Mimer, as chief of smiths, we also perceive in Saxo. It should be remembered what he relates about the incomparable treasures which are preserved in Gudmund-Mimer's domain, among which in addition to those already named occur arma humanorum corporum habitu grandiora (i., p. 427), and about Mimingus, who possesses the sword of victory, and an arm-ring which produces wealth (i. 113, 114). If we consult the poetic Edda, we find Mimer mentioned as Hodd-Mimer, Treasure-Mimer (Vafthr. 45); as naddgöfugr jotunn, the giant celebrated for his weapons (Grogalder, 14); as Hoddrofnir, or Hodd-dropnir, the treasure-dropping one (Sigrdr., 13); as Baugreginn, the king of the gold-rings (Solarlj., 56). And as shall be shown hereafter, the chief smiths are in the poetic Edda put in connection with Mimer as the one on whose fields they dwell, or in whose smithy they work. In the mythology, artistic and creative powers are closely related to each other. The great smiths of the Rigveda hymns, the Ribhus, make horses for Indra, create a cow and her calf, make from a single goblet three equally good, diffuse vegetation over the fields, and make brooks flow in the valleys (Rigveda, iv. 34, 9; iv. 38, 8; i. 20, 6, 110, 3, and elsewhere). This they do although they are mortals, who by their merits acquire immortality. In the Teutonic mythology
  • 43.
    Sindre and Brokforge from a pig-skin Frey's steed, which looks like a boar, and the sons of Ivalde forge from gold locks that grow like other hair. The ring Draupnir, which the dwarfs Sindre and Brok made, possesses itself creative power and produces every ninth night eight gold rings of equal weight with itself (Skaldsk., 37). The mead-drinker is the chief and master of all these artists. And on a closer examination it appears that Mimer's mead-well is the source of all these powers, which in the mythology are represented as creating, forming, and ordaining with wisdom. In Havamál (138-141) Odin relates that there was a time when he had not yet acquired strength and wisdom. But by self-sacrifice he was able to prevail on the celebrated Bolthorn's son, who dwells in the deep and has charge of the mead-fountain there and of the mighty runes, to give him (Odin) a drink from the precious mead, drawn from Odrærir: Tha nam ec frovaz oc frodr vera oc vaxa oc vel hafaz; ord mer af ordi orz leitadi, verc mer af verki vercs leitadi. Then I began to bloom and to be wise, and to grow and thrive; word came to me from word, deed came to me from deed. It is evident that Odin here means to say that the first drink which he received from Mimer's fountain was the turning-point in his life; that before that time he had not blossomed, had made no progress in wisdom, had possessed no eloquence nor ability to do great deeds, but that he acquired all this from the power of the mead. This is precisely the same idea as we constantly meet with in Rigveda, in regard to the soma-mead as the liquid from which the gods got creative power, wisdom, and desire to accomplish great deeds. Odin's greatest and most celebrated achievement was that
  • 44.
    he, with hisbrothers, created Midgard. Would it then be reasonable to suppose that he performed this greatest and wisest of his works before he began to develop fruit, and before he got wisdom and the power of activity? It must be evident to everybody that this would be unreasonable. It is equally manifest that among the works which he considered himself able to perform after the drink from Mimer's fountain had given him strength, we must place in the front rank those for which he is most celebrated: the slaying of the chaos-giant Ymer, the raising of the crust of the earth, and the creation of Midgard. This could not be said more clearly than it is stated in the above strophe of Havamál, unless Odin should have specifically mentioned the works he performed after receiving the drink. From Mimer's fountain and from Mimer's hand Odin has, therefore, received his creative power and his wisdom. We are thus able to understand why Odin regarded this first drink from Odrærer so immensely important that he could resolve to subject himself to the sufferings which are mentioned in strophes 138 and 139. But when Odin by a single drink from Mimer's fountain is endowed with creative power and wisdom, how can the conclusion be evaded, that the myth regarded Mimer as endowed with Promethean power, since it makes him the possessor of the precious fountain, makes him drink therefrom every day, and places him nearer to the deepest source and oldest activity of these forces in the universe than Odin himself? The given and more instantaneous power, thanks to which Odin was made able to form the upper world, came from the lower world and from Mimer. The world-tree has also grown out of the lower world and is Mimer's tree, and receives from his hands its value. Thus the creative power with which the dwarf-list in Völuspa endowed the mead-drinker is rediscovered in Mimer. It is, therefore, perfectly logical when the mythology makes him its first smith and chief artist, and keeper of treasures and the ruler of a group of dwarfs, underground artists, for originally these were and remained creative forces personified, just as Rigveda's Rubhus, who smithied flowers and grass, and animals, and opened the veins of the earth for fertilising streams, while they at the same time made implements and weapons.
  • 45.
    That Mimer wasthe profound counsellor and faithful friend of the Asas has already been shown. Thus we discover in Mimer Modsogner's governing position among the artists, his creative activity, and his friendly relation to the gods. Dvalin, created by Modsogner, is in the Norse sagas of the middle ages remembered as an extraordinary artist. He is there said to have assisted in the fashioning of the sword Tyrfing (Fornald. Saga, i. 436), of Freyja's splendid ornament Brisingamen, celebrated also in Anglo-Saxon poetry (Fornald. Saga, i. 391). In the Snofrid song, which is attributed to Harald Fairhair, the drapa is likened unto a work of art, which rings forth from beneath the fingers of Dvalin (hrynr fram ur Dvalin's greip—Fornm. Saga, x. 208; Flat., i. 582). This beautiful poetical figure is all the more appropriately applied, since Dvalin was not only the producer of the beautiful works of the smith, but also sage and skald. He was one of the few chosen ones who in time's morning were permitted to taste of Mimer's mead, which therefore is called his drink (Dvalin's drykkr—Younger Edda, i. 246). But in the earliest antiquity no one partook of this drink who did not get it from Mimer himself. Dvalin is one of the most ancient rune-masters, one of those who brought the knowledge of runes to those beings of creation who were endowed with reason (Havamál, 143). But all knowledge of runes came originally from Mimer. As skald and runic scholar, Dvalin, therefore, stood in the relation of disciple under the ruler of the lower world. The myth in regard to the runes (cp. No. 26) mentioned three apprentices, who afterwards spread the knowledge of runes each among his own class of beings. Odin, who in the beginning was ignorant of the mighty and beneficent rune-songs (Havamál, 138- 143), was by birth Mimer's chief disciple, and taught the knowledge of runes among his kinsmen, the Asas (Havamál, 143), and among men, his protégés (Sigdrifm., 18). The other disciples were Dain
  • 46.
    (Dáinn) and Dvalin(Dvalinn). Dain, like Dvalin, is an artist created by Modsogner (Völuspa, 11, Hauks Codex). He is mentioned side by side with Dvalin, and like him he has tasted the mead of poesy (munnvigg Dáins—Fornm. Saga, v. 209). Dain and Dvalin taught the runes to their clans, that is, to elves and dwarfs (Havamál, 143). Nor were the giants neglected. They learned the runes from Ásvidr. Since the other teachers of runes belong to the clans, to which they teach the knowledge of runes—Odin among Asas, Dain among elves, Dvalin among dwarfs—there can be no danger of making a mistake, if we assume that Ásvidr was a giant. And as Mimer himself is a giant, and as the name Ásvidr (= Ásvinr) means Asa-friend, and as no one—particularly no one among the giants—has so much right as Mimer to this epithet, which has its counterpart in Odin's epithet, Mims vinr (Mimer's friend), then caution dictates that we keep open the highly probable possibility that Mimer himself is meant by Ásvidr. All that has here been stated about Dvalin shows that the mythology has referred him to a place within the domain of Mimer's activity. We have still to point out two statements in regard to him. Sol is said to have been his leika (Fornald., i. 475; Allvism, 17; Younger Edda, i. 472, 593). Leika, as a feminine word and referring to a personal object, means a young girl, a maiden, whom one keeps at his side, and in whose amusement one takes part at least as a spectator. The examples which we have of the use of the word indicate that the leika herself, and the person whose leika she is, are presupposed to have the same home. Sisters are called leikur, since they live together. Parents can call a foster-daughter their leika. In the neuter gender leika means a plaything, a doll or toy, and even in this sense it can rhetorically be applied to a person. In the same manner as Sol is called Dvalin's leika, so the son of Nat and Delling, Dag, is called leikr Dvalins, the lad or youth with whom Dvalin amused himself (Fornspjal., 24). We have here found two points of contact between the mythic characters Dvalin and Delling. Dag, who is Dvalin's leikr, is Delling's
  • 47.
    son. Delling isthe watchman of the castle of the ásmegir, which Dvalin's artists decorated. Thus the whole group of persons among whom Dvalin is placed— Mimer, who is his teacher; Sol, who is his leika; Dag, who is his leikr; Nat, who is the mother of his leikr; Delling, who is the father of his leikr—have their dwellings in Mimer's domain, and belong to the subterranean class of the numina of Teutonic mythology. From regions situated below Midgard's horizon, Nat, Sol, and Dag draw their chariots upon the heavens. On the eastern border of the lower world is the point of departure for their regular journeys over the heavens of the upper world (the upper heavens, upphiminn— Völuspa, 3; Vafthr., 20, and elsewhere; uppheimr—Alvm., 13). Nat has her home and, as shall be shown hereafter, her birthplace in dales beneath the ash Ygdrasil. There she takes her rest after the circuit of her journey has been completed. In the lower world Sol and Nat's son, Dag, also have their halls where they take their rest. But where Delling's wife and son have their dwellings there we should also look for Delling's own abode. As the husband of Nat and the father of Dag, Delling occupies the same place among the divinities of nature as the dawn and the glow of sunrise among the phenomena of nature. And outside the doors of Delling, the king of dawn, mythology has also located the dwarf thjódreyrir (he who moves the people), who sings songs of awakening and blessing upon the world: power to the Asas, success to the elves, wisdom to Hroptatyr (afl asom, enn alfum frama, hyggio Hroptaty—Havam., 160). Unlike his kinsmen, Nat, Dag, and Sol, Delling has no duty which requires him to be absent from home a part of the day. The dawn is merely a reflection of Midgard's eastern horizon from Delling's subterranean dwelling. It can be seen only when Nat leaves the upper heaven and before Dag and Sol have come forward, and it makes no journey around the world. From a mythological standpoint it would therefore be possible to entrust the keeping of the castle of the ásmegir to the elf of dawn. The sunset-glow has another genius,
  • 48.
    Billing, and he,too, is a creation of Modsogner, if the dwarf-list is correct (Völuspa, 12). Sol, who on her way is pursued by two giant monsters in wolf-guise, is secure when she comes to her forest of the Varns behind the western horizon (til varna vidar—Grimn., 30). There in western halls (Vegtamskv., 11) dwells Billing, the chief of the Varns (Billing veold Vernum—Cod. Exon., 320). There rests his daughter Rind bright as the sun on her bed, and his body-guard keeps watch with kindled lights and burning torches (Havam., 100). Thus Billing is the watchman of the western boundary of Mimer's domain, Delling of the eastern. From this it follows: That the citadel of the ásmegir is situated in Mimer's lower world, and there in the regions of the elf of dawn. That Svipdag, who has seen the citadel of the ásmegir, has made a journey in the lower world before he found Menglad and secured her as his wife. The conclusion to which we have arrived in regard to the subterranean situation of the citadel is entirely confirmed by the other passage in the poetic Edda, where the ásmegir are mentioned by this name. Here we have an opportunity of taking a look within their castle, and of seeing the hall decorated with lavish splendour for the reception of an expected guest. Vegtamskvida tells us that Odin, being alarmed in regard to the fate of his son Balder, made a journey to the lower world for the purpose of learning from a vala what foreboded his favourite son. When Odin had rode through Nifelhel and come to green pastures (foldvegr), he found there below a hall decorated for festivity, and he asks the prophetess: hvæim eru bekkir baugum sánir, flæt fagrlig floth gulli?
  • 49.
    For whom arethe benches strewn with rings and the gold beautifully scattered through the rooms? And the vala answers: Her stændr Balldri of bruggin miodr, skirar væigar, liggr skiolldr yfir æn ásmegir i ofvæni. Here stands for Balder mead prepared, pure drink; shields are overspread, and the ásmegir are waiting impatiently. Thus there stands in the lower world a hall splendidly decorated awaiting Balder's arrival. As at other great feasts, the benches are strewn (cp. breida bekki, strá bekki, bua bekki) with costly things, and the pure wonderful mead of the lower world is already served as an offering to the god. Only the shields which cover the mead-vessel need to be lifted off and all is ready for the feast. Who or what persons have, in so good season, made these preparations? The vala explains when she mentions the ásmegir and speaks of their longing for Balder. It is this longing which has found utterance in the preparations already completed for his reception. Thus, when Balder gets to the lower world, he is to enter the citadel of the ásmegir and there be welcomed by a sacrifice, consisting of the noblest liquid of creation, the strength-giving soma-madhu of Teutonic mythology. In the old Norse heathen literature there is only one more place where we find the word ásmegir, and that is in Olaf Trygveson's saga, ch. 16 (Heimskringla). For the sake of completeness this passage should also be considered, and when analysed it, too, sheds much and important light on the subject. We read in this saga that Jarl Hakon proclaimed throughout his kingdom that the inhabitants should look after their temples and sacrifices, and so was done. Jarl Hakon's hird-skald, named Einar
  • 50.
    Skalaglam, who inthe poem Vellekla celebrated his deeds and exploits, mentions his interest in the heathen worship, and the good results this was supposed to have produced for the jarl himself and for the welfare of his land. Einar says: Ok hertharfir hverfa hlakkar móts til blóta, raudbrikar fremst rækir rikr, ásmegir, sliku. Nu grær jörd sem adan, c. Put in prose: Ok hertharfir ásmegir hverfa til blóta; hlakkar móts raudbríkar ríkr rækír fremst sliku. Nu grær jörd sem ádan. Translation: And the ásmegir required in war, turn themselves to the sacrificial feasts. The mighty promoter of the meeting of the red target of the goddess of war has honour and advantage thereof. Now grows the earth green as heretofore. There can be no doubt that the ásmegir required in war refer to the men in the territory ruled by Hakon, and that the mighty promoter of the meeting of the red target of the goddess of war refers to the warlike Hakon himself, and hence the meaning of the passage in its plain prose form is simply this: Hakon's men again devote themselves to the divine sacrifices. This is both an honour and an advantage to Hakon, and the earth again yields bountiful harvests. To these thoughts the skald has given a garb common in poetry of art, by adapting them to a mythological background. The persons in this background are the ásmegir and a mythical being called the promoter of the red target, raudbríkar rækir. The persons in the foreground are the men in Hakon's realm and Hakon himself. The persons in the foreground are permitted to borrow the names of the corresponding persons in the background, but on the condition that the borrowed names are furnished with adjectives which emphasise the specific difference between the original mythic lenders and the
  • 51.
    real borrowers. ThusHakon's subjects are allowed to borrow the appellation ásmegir, but this is then furnished with, the adjective hertharfir (required in war), whereby they are specifically distinguished from the ásmegir of the mythical background, and Hakon on his part is allowed to borrow the appellation raudbríkar rækir (the promoter of the red target), but this appellation is then furnished with the adjective phrase hlakkar móts (of the meeting of the goddess of war), whereby Hakon is specifically distinguished from the raudbríkar rækir of the mythical background. The rule also requires that, at least on that point of which the skald happens to be treating, the persons in the mythological background should hold a relation to each other which resembles, and can be compared with, the relation between the persons in the foreground. Hakon's men stand in a subordinate relation to Hakon himself; and so must the ásmegir stand in a subordinate relation to that being which is called raudbríkar rækir, providing the skald in this strophe as in the others has produced a tenable parallel. Hakon is, for his subjects, one who exhorts them to piety and fear of the gods. Raudbríkar rækir, his counterpart in the mythological background, must have been the same for his ásmegir. Hakon's subjects offer sacrifices, and this is an advantage and an honour to Hakon, and the earth grows green again. In the mythology the ásmegir must have held some sacrificial feast, and raudbríkar rækir must have had advantage and honour, and the earth must have regained its fertility. Only on these conditions is the figure of comparison to the point, and of such a character that it could be presented unchallenged to heathen ears familiar with the myths. It should be added that Einar's greatness as a skald is not least shown by his ability to carry out logically such figures of comparison. We shall later on give other examples of this. Who is, then, this raudbríkar rækir, the promoter of the red target? In the mythological language raudbrik (red target) can mean no other object than the sun. Compare rödull, which is frequently used to designate the sun. If this needed confirmation, then we have it
  • 52.
    immediately at handin the manner in which the word is applied in the continuation of the paraphrase adapted to Hakon. A common paraphrase for the shield is the sun with suitable adjectives, and thus raudbrik is applied here. The adjective phrase is here hlakkar móts, of the meeting of the war-goddess (that is, qualifying the red target), whereby the red target (= sun), which is an attribute of the mythic rækir of the background, is changed to a shield, which becomes an attribute of the historical rækir of the foreground, namely Hakon jarl, the mighty warrior. Accordingly, raudbríkar rækir of the mythology must be a masculine divinity standing in some relation to the sun. This sun-god must also have been upon the whole a god of peace. Had he not been so, but like Hakon a war-loving shield-bearer, then the paraphrase hlakkar móts raudbríkar rækir would equally well designate him as Hakon, and thus it could not be used to designate Hakon alone, as it then would contain neither a nota characteristica for him nor a differentia specifica to distinguish him from the mythic person, whose epithet raudbríkar rækir he has been allowed to borrow. This peaceful sun-god must have descended to the lower world and there stood in the most intimate relation with the ásmegir referred to the domain of Mimer, for he is here represented as their chief and leader in the path of piety and the fear of the gods. The myth must have mentioned a sacrificial feast or sacrificial feasts celebrated by the ásmegir. From this or these sacrificial feasts the peaceful sun- god must have derived advantage and honour, and thereupon the earth must have regained a fertility, which before that had been more or less denied it. From all this it follows with certainty that raudbrikar rækir of the mythology is Balder. The fact suggested by the Vellekla strophe above analysed, namely, that Balder, physically interpreted, is a solar divinity, the mythological scholars are almost a unit in assuming to be the case on account of the general character of the Balder myth. Though Balder was celebrated for heroic deeds he is substantially a
  • 53.
    god of peace,and after his descent to the lower world he is no longer connected with the feuds and dissensions of the upper world. We have already seen that he was received in the lower world with great pomp by the ásmegir, who impatiently awaited his arrival, and that they sacrifice to him that bright mead of the lower world, whose wonderfully beneficial and bracing influence shall be discussed below. Soon afterwards he is visited by Hermod. Already before Balder's funeral pyre, Hermod upon the fastest of all steeds hastened to find him in the lower world (Gylfag., 51, 52), and Hermod returns from him and Nanna with the ring Draupnir for Odin, and with a veil for the goddess of earth, Fjorgyn-Frigg. The ring from which other rings drop, and the veil which is to beautify the goddess of earth, are symbols of fertility. Balder, the sun-god, had for a long time before his death been languishing. Now in the lower world he is strengthened with the bracing mead of Mimer's domain by the ásmegir who gladly give offerings, and the earth regains her green fields. Hakon's men are designated in the strophe as hertharfir ásmegir. When they are permitted to borrow the name of the ásmegir, then the adjective hertharfir, if chosen with the proper care, is to contain a specific distinction between them and the mythological beings whose name they have borrowed. In other words, if the real ásmegir were of such a nature that they could be called hertharfir, then that adjective would not serve to distinguish Hakon's men from them. The word hertharfir means those who are needed in war, those who are to be used in war. Consequently, the ásmegir are beings who are not to be used in war, beings whose dwelling, environment, and purpose suggest a realm of peace, from which the use of weapons is banished. Accordingly, the parallel presented in Einar's strophe, which we have now discussed, is as follows: Mythology. History.
  • 54.
    Peaceful beings ofthe lower world (ásmegir). Warlike inhabitants of the earth (hertharfir ásmegir). at the instigation of their chief, at the instigation of their chief, the sun-god Balder (raudbríkar rækir), the shield's Balder, Hakon (hlakkar móts raudbríkar rækir), go to offer sacrifices. go to offer sacrifices. The peaceful Balder is thereby benefited. The shield's Balder is thereby benefited. The earth grows green again. The earth grows green again. ok ásmegir, ok hertharfir ásmegir, hverfa til blóta; hverfa til blóta raudbrikar rikr rækir fremst sliku. hlakkar móts raudbríkar rikr rækir fremst sliku. Nú grær jördsem ádan. Nú grær jörd sem ádan. In the background which Einar has given to his poetical paraphrase, we thus have the myth telling how the sun-god Balder, on his descent to the lower world, was strengthened by the soma-sacrifice brought him by the ásmegir, and how he sent back with Hermod the treasures of fertility which had gone with him and Nanna to the lower world, and which restored the fertility of the earth. To what category of beings do the ásmegir then belong? We have seen the word applied as a technical term in a restricted sense. The possibilities of application which the word with reference to its definition supplies are: (1) The word may be used in the purely physical sense of Asa-sons, Asa-descendants. In this case the subterranean ásmegir would be by
  • 55.
    their very descentmembers of that god-clan that resides in Asgard, and whose father and clan-patriarch is Odin. (2) The word can be applied to men. They are the children of the Asa-father in a double sense: the first human pair was created by Odin and his brothers (Völusp., 16, 17; Gylfag., 9), and their offspring are also in a moral sense Odin's children, as they are subject to his guidance and care. He is Alfather, and the father of the succeeding generations (allfadir, aldafadir). A word resembling ásmegir in character is ásasynir, and this is used in Allvismal, 16, in a manner which shows that it does not refer to any of those categories of beings that are called gods (see further, No. 62)[5] The conception of men as sons of the gods is also implied in the all mankind embracing phrase, megir Heimdallar (Völusp., 1), with which the account of Rig-Heimdal's journey on the earth and visit to the patriarchs of the various classes is connected.[6] The true meaning of the word in this case is determined by the fact that the ásmegir belong to the dwellers in the lower world already before the death of Balder, and that Balder is the first one of the Asas and sons of Odin who becomes a dweller in the lower world. To this must be added, that if ásmegir meant Asas, Einar would never have called the inhabitants of Norway, the subjects of jarl Hakon, hertharfir ásmegir, for hertharfir the Asas are themselves, and that in the highest degree. They constitute a body of more or less warlike persons, who all have been needed in conflict in the wars around Asgard and Midgard, and they all, Balder included, are gods of war and victory. It would also have been malapropos to compare men with Asas on an occasion when the former were represented as bringing sacrifices to the gods; that is, as persons subordinate to them and in need of their assistance. The ásmegir are, therefore, human beings excluded from the surface of the earth, from the mankind which dwell in Midgard, and are inhabitants of the lower world, where they reside in a splendid castle kept by the elf of dawn, Delling, and enjoy the society of Balder, who
  • 56.
    descended to Hades.To subterranean human beings refers also Grimnismal, 21, which says that men (mennzkir menn) dwell under the roots of Ygdrasil; and Allvismal, 16 (to be compared with 18, 20, and other passages), and Skirnersmal, 34, which calls them áslithar, a word which Gudbrand Vigfusson has rightly assumed to be identical with ásmegir. Thus it is also demonstrated that the ásmegir are identical with the subterranean human persons Lif and Leifthraser and their descendants in Mimer's grove. The care with which the mythology represents the citadel of the ásmegir kept, shown by the fact that the elf Delling, the counterpart of Heimdal in the lower world, has been entrusted with its keeping, is intelligible and proper when we know that it is of the greatest importance to shield Lif and Leifthraser's dwelling from all ills, sickness, age, and moral evil (see above). It is also a beautiful poetic thought that it is the elf of the morning dawn—he outside of whose door the song of awakening and bliss is sung to the world—who has been appointed to watch those who in the dawn of a new world shall people the earth with virtuous and happy races. That the ásmegir in the lower world are permitted to enjoy the society of Balder is explained by the fact that Lif and Leifthraser and their offspring are after Ragnarok to accompany Balder to dwell under his sceptre, and live a blameless life corresponding to his wishes. They are to be his disciples, knowing their master's commandments and having them written in their hearts. We have now seen that the ásmegir already before Balder's death dwell in Mimer's grove. We have also seen that Svipdag on his journey in the lower world had observed a castle, which he knew belonged to the ásmegir. The mythology knows two fimbul-winters; the former raged in time's morning, the other is to precede Ragnarok. The former occurred when Freyja, the goddess of fertility, was treacherously delivered into the power of the frost-giants and all the air was blended with corruption (Völusp., 26); when there came from the Elivogs stinging, ice-cold arrows of frost, which put men to
  • 57.
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