DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4668#0095
n.] Note on the Sacred Angle. 77
an Angle-dweller, that is, an Englishman ; and the two
Words composing it are still preserved in English as
"wick," a place, and "kink," an indentation. Berserk
again, another well-known but unintelligible appellation,
means in that ancient tongue " foam-plough ; " a striking
and most natural image for those ploughers of the ocean
to employ, and one which harmonizes exactly with the
numerous poetic titles given by the Vikings to their true
home, the ship. Odin himself, though the descendant of
ancestors who had been settled for generations upon the
Euxine, bore an Egyptian name—the significant name of
-Destroyer ; and his standard, the raven, was the Egyptian
symbol of destruction. Nor was it only in his character
of pirate * (itself an Egyptian word), but as teacher also,
that his associations connect themselves with the same
source. According to tradition, he was acquainted in
some measure with the process of embalmment, and he
claimed to know the secret of the sacred writing, while
his followers were distinguished by the winged head-
dress which was borne by the sacred scribe of Egypt, as
representing the dominion of east and west bestowed
by Ha upon Thoth, the Lord of Wisdom. So with the
funeral feasts, the elaborate ceremonies and the inter-
course with the dead which had so rooted a hold in the
hearts of our Scandinavian forefathers. The Asars, or
holy ancestors whom they worshipped, were the very
counterpart both in name and in attributes with the
holy souls of Egypt who had become united with Osiris
(more properly Uasar), and were themselves described
Some etymologists strangely derive this word from the Greek
*«'paw, " to attempt; " us though a pirate, of all people in the world,
w<-to a mau ^ le,lv(, his work ]mif f„,is]le(j.
an Angle-dweller, that is, an Englishman ; and the two
Words composing it are still preserved in English as
"wick," a place, and "kink," an indentation. Berserk
again, another well-known but unintelligible appellation,
means in that ancient tongue " foam-plough ; " a striking
and most natural image for those ploughers of the ocean
to employ, and one which harmonizes exactly with the
numerous poetic titles given by the Vikings to their true
home, the ship. Odin himself, though the descendant of
ancestors who had been settled for generations upon the
Euxine, bore an Egyptian name—the significant name of
-Destroyer ; and his standard, the raven, was the Egyptian
symbol of destruction. Nor was it only in his character
of pirate * (itself an Egyptian word), but as teacher also,
that his associations connect themselves with the same
source. According to tradition, he was acquainted in
some measure with the process of embalmment, and he
claimed to know the secret of the sacred writing, while
his followers were distinguished by the winged head-
dress which was borne by the sacred scribe of Egypt, as
representing the dominion of east and west bestowed
by Ha upon Thoth, the Lord of Wisdom. So with the
funeral feasts, the elaborate ceremonies and the inter-
course with the dead which had so rooted a hold in the
hearts of our Scandinavian forefathers. The Asars, or
holy ancestors whom they worshipped, were the very
counterpart both in name and in attributes with the
holy souls of Egypt who had become united with Osiris
(more properly Uasar), and were themselves described
Some etymologists strangely derive this word from the Greek
*«'paw, " to attempt; " us though a pirate, of all people in the world,
w<-to a mau ^ le,lv(, his work ]mif f„,is]le(j.