e thing--to register a solemn vow
not to harm Balder. All creation readily took the oath, for there was
nothing on earth which did not love the radiant god. So the servants
returned to Frigga, telling her that all had been duly sworn save
the mistletoe, growing upon the oak stem at the gate of Valhalla,
and this, they added, was such a puny, inoffensive thing that no harm
could be feared from it.

"On a course they resolved:
That they would send
To every being,
Assurance to solicit,
Balder not to harm.
All species swore
Oaths to spare him;
Frigg received all
Their vows and compacts."

Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).

Frigga now resumed her spinning in great content, for she felt assured
that no harm could come to the child she loved above all.

The Vala's Prophecy

Odin, in the meantime, had resolved to consult one of the dead Vala
or prophetesses. Mounted upon his eight-footed steed Sleipnir, he rode
over the tremulous bridge Bifroest and over the weary road which leads
to Giallar and the entrance of Nifl-heim, where, passing through the
Helgate and by the dog Garm, he penetrated into Hel's dark abode.

"Uprose the king of men with speed,
And saddled straight his coal-black steed;
Down the yawning steep he rode,
That leads to Hela's drear abode."

Descent of Odin (Gray).

Odin saw to his surprise that a feast was being spread in this dark
realm, and that the couches had been covered with tapestry and rings of
gold, as if some highly honoured guest were expected. But he hurried on
without pausing, until he reached the spot where the Vala had rested
undisturbed for many a year, when he began solemnly to chant a magic
spell and to trace the runes which had the power of raising the dead.

"Thrice pronounc'd, in accents dread,
The thrilling verse that wakes the dead:
Till from out the hollow ground
Slowly breath'd a sullen sound."

Descent of Odin (Gray).

Suddenly the tomb opened, and the prophetess slowly rose, inquiring
who had dared thus to trouble her long rest. Odin, not wishing her to
know that he was the mighty father of gods and men, replied that he
was Vegtam, son of Valtam, and that he had awakened her to inquire for
whom Hel was spreading her couches and preparing a festive meal. In
hollow tones, the prophetess confirmed all his fears by telling him
that the expected guest w