The Helm of Awe

More because I haven't posted in a few days than for any other reason, I am going to blog about my theories on the Helm of Awe. It is an item that Sigurd, the Volsung, took from Fafnir after he killed him. Most scholars translate it as a 'helmet' but it is also a rune that Viking sailors used to tattoo themselves with for protection. Although, most of the information you will find on the internet is what could be called 'speculative' rather than being 'academic', there is a book by Terisa Green called The Tattoo Encyclopedia in which Green, an archeologist, shows the tattoo as being of ancient origins.

Perhaps it is translated as a 'helmet' because Sigurd's German counterpart Siegfried has a 'tarnkappe' which is normally translated as a 'cloak of invisibility' in spite of the fact that 'kappe' can also be translated as 'helm'. When Siegfried is wrestling Brunhilde, it seems to me that a head covering would stay on better than a cloak. Even more so, when Siegfried is trying to win Brunhilde for Gunther and is throwing things and trying to make it appear as though it is Gunther doing it. This would be harder to accomplish swathed in a cloak.

We are expected to suspend disbelief but, if there is a way to translate these words that aren't so contrary to logic, why not use them. Are scholars saying that people in the 12th century were any less logical than ourselves?

Sigurd did not seem to have the covering that made him invincible like Siegfried but I question that. If he acquired this rune from the dragon, then he did possess invincibility, he just didn't use it.

image of the aegishjalmr courtesy of Scandinavian Wikipedia

St. Augustine's Justification of War

I was reading T.S. Asbridge's essay on the crusader community at Antioch and I found his comment that the justification for wars like the Crusades were found in St. Augustine's City of God. So, we can lay some of the blame for the Crusades on St. Augustine. Fine by me. Sounds about right since I don't recall any passages in the Bible that, in spite of some of the goings on in the Old Testament, actually state that war is okay. 'Thou shalt not kill' seems pretty clear and there is no '...except in cases of ....' added to that commandment but what do I know. I come from a long line of Anabaptists and an anti-war stance has probably been bred into my DNA.

While I was plugging away at this very influential book, I noticed Book I, chapter 21, entitled 'of the cases in which we may put men to death without incurring the guilt of murder'. This must be the passage. It follows a discussion of suicides who are rape victims. Augustine, very generously, says that if a violated woman commits suicide "who that has any human feeling would refuse to forgive them" but he did not encourage women to do so since the stain for the violation rests on the abuser not the victim. Pity more people didn't pay attention to this part of Augustine. I almost feel like I might grow to like him but there is still a whole lot of book left in which he can annoy me so I won't be hasty about that.

Book I, chapter 21 states there are two exceptions to that prohibition - 'thou shalt not kill' - and those exceptions are made by divine authority justified by a general law or by a special commission. The special commission makes the person who kills 'a sword in the hand of the person who uses him' and not morally responsible for the death. So then, would he say the sin for all those deaths in the Crusades would then be laid upon the popes who called for them? Interesting thought. He went on to say that "those who have waged war in obedience to the divine command, or in conformity with His laws have represented in their persons the public justice or the wisdom of government, and in this capacity have put to death wicked men; such person have by no means violated the commandment, "Thou shalt not kill".

I know, huh?

First off - 'wisdom of government' is an oxymoron. Is there such a thing? 'Divine command' - do we really know what God wants? The pope is God's representative on earth but many, many popes have been such deeply flawed individuals that one could question if they speak for God at all. God himself is silent on this point. Augustine did not point out what laws this war is in conformity to. There are wars in the Old Testament and it seems at times these wars are waged with God's permission or even command but it does not appear to be explicitly so, not that I know the Bible well enough to say this for certain. He did not define what he meant by 'wicked men'; if we are talking pedophiles, you won't get any argument from me.

He gave three examples of killing that were directly ordered by God - the command given to Abraham to slay Isaac, Jephthah who killed his own daughter because he swore to sacrifice the first thing he met if he was victorious in war, and Samson who had been given secret instructions to pull down the building and crush his enemies. So, we could give him that. If God appears and tells you that you have to do this thing, then you better do it but the question remains - does the Pope then have the right to issue commands like this on God's behalf? I think not and, in Augustine's time, the office of the Bishop of Rome was still evolving and very different from what it is today so he did not comment on what the Pope may do in this case.

I am using the Marcus Dods translation, which looks to be out of copyright at the moment. yay.

What is it all about anyway?

I have not picked up a single book in Latin this week. I did read some St. Augustine but that was in translation. (Augustine is tough enough translated; I don't feel like tackling him in Latin.) It has been nice. I wandered out into the garden, baked some Irish Coffee cupcakes, and visited with some friends. I even had a beer last night.

I have some doubts about graduate studies. I think I wrote better when I didn't care about my grades. I am not having any fun and I think studies in the Humanities are changing in ways that make it no longer fun. Everyone in my class last year was groaning about weight gain and not having time for anything but studying, even the one woman who made it to the gym didn't make it enough. I like balance in my life. I don't live to work.

My next post will be back to blogging about the Middle Ages. This week I just felt like smelling the roses.

Peter Abelard, Rock God

Just for fun, I am posting a link to Youtube. It is a song or, rather a hymn, written by Peter Abelard. I have it on my iPod along with The BeeGees and Lady Gaga because I am a complicated gal. Abelard also wrote love songs which were popular among Parisians. Unfortunately, we don't have any of those but we do have this hymn that he wrote for Heloise after she became a nun so she would have something to sing on a Saturday night when everyone else was down at the pub singing the other songs. Just kidding. He did write this hymn for Heloise while she was abbess of a convent that he set up for her.

In spite of it being over 800 years old, it still has a certain charm. Lennon and McCartney have a long way to go to catch up with him. I think if he was alive today, he would be a rock star like Amadeus.

Here it is: Quanta Qualia