Entwining Beasts: The Snake in Nordic Paganism

The image of the snake, serpent, or dragon has always troubled me. I think this is in part because of my Christian upbringing, and in part because of the natural primitive repulsion we all still carry on some level. For many the snake is a symbol of mortal danger, and to some it inspires irrational fear. I am not afraid of snakes, but I do carry a natural wariness of them.

But anyway, back to the point. The serpent in Nordic mythology. Thanks to my new enrollment at the University of Oklahoma, I now have access to a wealth of information on just about any subject in the world thanks to the online resources of the University resources. Today I was reading an article called Fragments of Ancient Beliefs: The Snake as a Multivocal Symbol in Nordic Mythology by Gro Mandt. Though I did not find anything in it that blew me out of the water, I did find some interesting ideas there that I thought were worth a bit of blogging.

One point was the discussion of the snake as rather ambiguous in meaning when on compares the literary tradition to the archeological/cultural evidence. In the myths, the snakes are often portrayed very negatively, to the point of being associated with death and destruction. This leads many to view the serpent as a harmful, negative symbol in the Norse pantheon. Yet when one examines the archaeological sources, we find the image of entwining snakes or serpents on nearly every sort of Nordic artifact, from personal jewelry, household items, and burial or runestones.

This has lead scholars to contemplate whether or not the snake was truly a symbol of death and chaos in early Norse paganism, or whether those who composed the literature we have today altered it. Or perhaps the meaning simply changed over centuries, with the transformation of societal structure from matriarchal to patriachal. The snake itself has long been associated with women's mysteries throughout a multitude of cultural systems.

The serpents of myths are presented as monsters, associated with death and disaster, that fought against and were chained by the gods. On the other hand, the snakes encountered in material culture appear to fulfill their ancient function as guardians. It seems unlikely that the snake motif that decorates weapons and jewelry symbolizes evil and destructive forces. On the contrary, the snakes occurring in the decorative styles, or outlined in the shape of finger or arm rings, were probably meant to protect their owners (Mandt, 2000).

Even in myth their is some indication that snakes had some sort of protective, benevolent function as well as being a symbol of chaos. The World Serpent, Midgardsormen, encircles the world. But in some sense it serves a protective function as well, enclosing Midgard from that which is outside, acting almost as a wall against the forces of the cosmos.

The earliest kenning for Midsgardormen, dating to the ninth century A.D., is "belt" meaning "something that holds together." Thus Midgardsormen represents Ouroboros, the cosmic snake that girdles the world.

I believe that the image of the snake, dragon, or serpent on Norse myth had been altered or had undergone a change by the time that the Eddas were originally transcribed. In these myth, the snake or dragon is portrayed in a very unfavorable light, even though their is much evident in the Nordic material record that illustrates a very different perspective. I think that to be true to Nordic belief we must realize that the snake itself is not wholly negative or "evil." The snake is a figure which may also serve a protective purpose, as well as aggressive one.

I think this is enough for today. Their is also some connection between snake lore and the God Thor that is worth discussion, but I will leave that for it's own post. =)

Love and Light

Cena