Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/55

Rh (metaphors) which must have at least two, but may have more members. Thus we find for instance that gold is called Freyjas's tears (referring to the myth in which Freyja is said to have wept golden tears when she was deserted by her husband Od); that the gallows are called Hagbard's steed (referring to the legend according to which the young Norwegian hero, the lover of the Danish princess, was hung); that a warrior is called the wielder of the sword; a sword, the fire of the shield; a shield, the war-roof; so that, instead of warrior, we may say, the wielder of the fire of the war-roof. The interpretation becomes still more difficult from the fact that when two things have the same name, then a metaphor that stands for the one can represent the other as well. Thus the word lind means both a ship and a shield, and consequently every metaphor used for a shield may be applied to a ship, and vice versa. How far this may be carried is illustrated by a skald who, instead of the word flake (fioki — snow-flake), used the word tree (trè). His right to do so appears from the following analysis: Instead of floki one may say sky (cloud); instead of sky, hrafn (raven); instead of hrafn, hestr (steed); instead of hestr, marr (mare); instead of marr, sær (sea); instead of sær, viðir (ocean); instead of viðir, viðr (wood); instead of viðr, bein (bone); instead of bein, teinn (twig); and instead of teinn, trè.