Bloodfeud and Scandinavian Mythology..

[Lyfing]

Bloodfeud and Scandinavian Mythology, by John Lindow..

Viewed from a distance, the whole sweep of Scandinavian mythology — the“saga” of the æsir — looks quite a lot like a feud. It is set in motion by a killing, the slaying of Ymir by Odin and his brothers, which may be regarded as an Opening Move in Boehm’s terminology. To be sure, it does not proceed from any smaller honor-related disputes of which we are aware, but in fact no explanation is given. Margaret Clunies Ross (1994a, 235–36) points out that the “first period” of the mythology, which preceded the construction of the cosmos by the sons of Borr, was marked by physical reality and a social stability among the jotnar that manifested itself in a demonstrable patrilineal system and the ability of the race to nurture its young. Since Borr’s sons are themselves the third generation in the line descended from Búri, the possibility for social intercourse and hence discord between jotnar and æsir existed before the attack on Ymir; the comparative analysis of bloodfeud would predict it. In any case, like many such homicides in the ethnographicrecord, the Opening Move killing of Ymir is morally justifiable from thepoint of view of those who carried it out. As with, for example, the slaying of Helgi in Hoensa-Þóris saga,4 we must infer the moral justification, here primarily in the fact of the creation of the cosmos. Ymir’s unnatural procreation also adds to the moral justification of his slaying, for natural sexuality now must permanently replace the reproductive activity of Ymir’s limbs. Furthermore, by the logic of bloodfeud, the dismemberment of Ymir’s body and consequent impossibility for his kin to dispose properly of his remains would represent a particularly potent Opening Move. Not only would the giants’ honor be sullied, but also the head of their family is peremptorily removed. Finally, according to Snorri’s account of creation, the flood that ensued from Ymir’s blood nearly drowned the entire family of hrímþursar.
Whether the term is to be understood literally as designating a subset of
jotnar or metonymically as designating all of them is unclear, but in either case the motif could be read as part of a peremptory strike, a potent strategy within the Opening Move.

This one is a great one..

Later,
-Lyfing