The Layman’s Havamal

By Paul Begadon

This book is an exploration of the wisdom in the Viking Age poem Havamal, specifically as it relates to the average person who isn't a scholar of Old Norse or even an enthusiast of Viking culture. This book is for the layman, the average person who simply wants to improve their life using proven advice.

The poem Havamal is earthy, cynical, stoic, and grim in its depiction of human life. Havamal means “The Words of the High One.” The poem's speaker is none other than Odin, King of the Gods, who has traveled the many worlds seeking power and suffered greatly in his quest. Through suffering, he has won great wisdom, which he shares with us in this poem. Though the speaker of Havamal is a god, it was actually composed by human poets during the Viking and Medieval Ages. Therefore, the text's advice is not lofty and ethereal, like some other gnomic literature, but very human.

This book will interest people who want to live well in the modern world. The advice given in the poem is specific. For example: keep your eyes open when you enter a gathering because there could be enemies inside. But the wisdom behind the words can be extracted out and applied to more general situations, which is what the author has done for each of Havamal’s 164 verses.

The Layman’s Havamal contains an original rendering of the poem into English and a complete analysis of each verse as it relates to modern life, in a way which is sure to improve your standing in this slippery world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul Begadon
• Release date: May 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781838454807

Paul Begadon

Paul Begadon has been a soldier, mechanic, engineer, publisher, and writer. He’s the author of The Layman’s Havamal, Unchaining The Titan, and What Are You Selling? He currently lives in Dublin, Ireland. More of his work can be read at www.woodkern.net.

Book preview

The Layman’s Havamal

By Paul Begadon

"At all doors, before you go forth,

Take your time to look about,

To nose your way in.

For you never know when a foe

Might sit in the seats before you."

-Verse 1

This, the gateway into the Havamal, warns us to be wary before we pass through a gateway. Wise counsel. The world is full of danger and enemies who would work their malice upon you if given a chance. Collectively speaking, we've probably never been as safe as we are now in the modern age of police, forensics, street cameras, gun control laws, general political stability, the relative infrequency of wars, and the general trend towards peace which seems to pervade modern Western societies. Sure, violence still happens, but I'd be willing to bet that it happens a lot less than it did during, for example, the feudal societies of the Middle Ages or the brutal migratory upheaval of the Bronze Age.

We live now in a time of relative peace, relative safety, relative goodwill to our fellow man. But relative safety is not absolute safety. It's only more or less safe than something comparable. So although it's generally not fatal for us to let our guard down when we go on a journey or meet new people, that doesn't mean we should be complacent. The world's still a turbulent and dangerous place, and it's occupied by unstable and dangerous people. Some of those people will take advantage of us if it's necessary and the opportunity arises. Some of them will actively seek to bring us down for no apparent reason at all. So watch out and pay attention to the people you meet. They're dangerous, even the ones who don't look like it. Perhaps especially the ones who don't look like it.

Unfortunately, walking down any street or stepping onto any form of public transport will yield countless examples of people who do not heed the advice given in this verse. How many people do we see every day who go about their business in densely populated areas, surrounded by other people, other predators, with their headphones in their ears and their smartphones in their hands, heads hung low to stare at their feet or entranced by the dull blue light of their screens? They might as well be walking through life with their eyes shut and their fingers in their ears. Any physically capable man would only need the advantage of surprise over these people to harm them grievously and take whatever they carry, no matter how competent that person might be when in an alert state. Even a person with a gun and the ability to use it can be caught off guard and defeated by surprise.

This complacency and ignorance of our surroundings is a modern tendency that arises from the comforts of contemporary life. We are relatively safe, in general, and probably a little naive, so we feel safe enough to ignore people most of the time. Most of the time that isn't a problem. Until it is. It only takes one time, one moment of distraction, for some predator to destroy us. So take the time, a long time if possible, to scan your surroundings and the people in your path. You never know when one of those people might take advantage of you.

This is good advice in all areas of life. But it's especially good advice when you undertake a journey, embark on an adventure, do something or go somewhere you've never been before, especially if you're with someone you've never met before. In other words, it's good advice at a gateway.

A gateway is a portal that allows one to pass through a boundary or a barrier. The purpose of a barrier is to separate the inside from the outside, the familiar from the strange, Us from Them. We must build walls, metaphorically and literally, to separate the things we want to keep in from the things we want to keep out. This is how we order our environment. We divide the desirable from the undesirable by building walls. Even paradise had a wall. Those who dwell beyond the wall may or may not be our enemies, but they cannot be wholly trusted until they have proven their alliance to those inside the wall. They may be amicable and friendly to us, but this does not mean that they have our best interests at heart. As such, situations where those inside the wall meet with those from outside are fraught with tension and the potential for betrayal. Do not enter such situations naively, but rather keep your wits about you. You may be ridiculed for being paranoid or mistrustful, but better that than to be the victim of treachery because of your own folly.

Never offer your enemies the advantage of catching you off guard, whether you are walking down a street, sitting in a meeting, or entering a building. The feeling of security you might feel is entirely illusory, and the world is full of those who would seek to take advantage of your distraction. As the saying goes, There are no victims, only volunteers. Do not volunteer to be caught off guard. But do not give in to fear and paranoia either. This verse doesn't tell us to be ever doubtful, fearful, isolationist, on our guard. Instead, it tells us to watch, be aware, and take the time to look and think, to analyze, to use your head.

At the intersection between you and The Other, make your preparations beforehand, plan your course, anticipate any dangers, then walk boldly through the gateway. Expect to be surprised, for it is practically assured, but prepare yourself in such a manner that you are capable of operating effectively even when caught off your guard. Watch out and be ready.

"Hail to the host! A guest has come in.

Where shall he sit?

He is eager, who comes to the fire,

To test and try his luck."

-Verse 2

"He has need of fire who now has come in,

Cold to the knees, as he is.

Food and clothing the wanderer needs,

The one who has walked in the hills."

-Verse 3

"Water to wash with and a welcoming word

Needs the one who comes to the feast.

If he would gain favor from his host,

He must speak and be silent in turn."

-Verse 4

Hospitality is a virtue of the highest order, but hospitality is a two-way exchange. We are expected to prove ourselves as generous and worthy hosts when a guest comes to our home, to give them warmth, food, conversation, entertainment, and a place to rest.

Most of the ancient texts that I've read have made some reference to how a host should behave when dealing with guests, but Havamal goes one step further a little later in the poem and tells us how a guest should behave too. Different cultures generally tend to have different rituals associated with shows of hospitality, but the core concept of hospitality is almost universal.

In Gaelic Ireland, before its demise, there was a position, almost a kind of royally appointed office, known as the Briugu. A Briugu was a man who was awarded large portions of land and cattle by his King. In exchange for this, he was put under the unceasing obligation that he must open his household and feed any travelers who entered his hostel, no matter how large their party might be. A poor host who failed to live up to the standards expected of a Briugu, a Hosteller, would be satired and derided by the traveling poets who roamed the land and whose words were on par with a King’s.

In Ancient Greek texts, we read of a custom called Xenia, which defined the reciprocal relationship between guest and host. The sky god Zeus, King of the Greek pantheon, was sometimes called Zeus Xenios, placing the act of showing hospitality under his watchful and judgmental eye. It's important to remember that the Iliad, the War on Troy, perhaps the most well-known of Greek tales, was begun because of the violation of Xenia when Paris stole the wife of the man who was his host. Therefore, the Greeks were required by Zeus Xenios to avenge the transgression and thus began the downfall of Troy. And let us not forget the story of Ixion, who repeatedly violated Xenia and was tied to a flaming wheel that spun through the heavens for all time.

The theme of showing hospitality to travelers who are actually Gods in disguise is an old one and is prevalent across many cultures. It's so prevalent that there's a word for it, Theoxeny, which is derived from Theos and Xenia, which approximately means God-Hospitality. In the Book of Genesis, Abraham is visited by three men who are either three angels in disguise or two angels and God himself. Abraham goes out of his way to show proper respect and hospitality to these visitors, and he is rewarded with divine favor for it. Later, Abraham's nephew Lot meets these men and shows them hospitality by protecting them from a malicious crowd who wanted to rape them. Lot even goes so far as to offer the crowd his own two virgin daughters to rape in place of the three strangers, thus demonstrating the lengths he is prepared to go to in his devotion to the sacred duty of a hospitable host. Lot is rewarded by God for his Xenia by escaping the city before it was destroyed by God's fire. The Roman poet Ovid tells a similar tale of how Zeus and Hermes visited a town asking for hospitality. They were refused by the townspeople except for Baucis and Philemon, who lived in a modest rustic cottage. They were poor, but they showed the two strangers whatever meager hospitality was in their power to command. As a reward, they were granted safe passage out of the town before the Gods destroyed it by a great flood. The Gods also changed their peasant's hut into a grand temple, of which they became the guardians. And of course, there are many tales of Odin, the High One himself, the speaker of the Havamal, roaming the nine realms in disguise and working mischief amongst mortals in his quest for knowledge and the power to defy death. Odin is often shown hospitality by those he visits, and sometimes he even rewards that hospitality. But sometimes he doesn't. As you will read later in Havamal, Odin is not always one to be trusted.

In modern times hospitality is seldom thought of as being of potentially divine significance. But even in modern times, the host is under a great and weighty obligation, which is why so many people dread hosting guests and can't bear the stress it brings. But there is an equally solemn obligation on the guest to be polite, thankful, well-mannered, sociable, and not to presume too much while benefitting from the blessing of another's hospitality. A guest is expected to mind their manners and leave before they wear out their welcome and begin to intrude upon the host's hospitality.

We rarely think of or need hospitality when we are at home. But the value of kindness and generosity is revealed in full when we travel. Travel forces us to consider those things which are truly important. When one goes on the road for a long time, one quickly learns to discard any trivial impediments that are not essential to survival or the nature of the journey. You can only carry so much while on the move, so everything you bring must be important, and anything you might need that can't be carried will have to be procured along the way from someone else. In times such as these, it's the things that we often overlook which bring us the most pleasure. Warmth and food and a little comfort and conversation. Ask any soldier or vagrant or mountain climber or backpacker about the things that have brought them the most joy during the hardship of journeying. Usually, it's the so-called little things such as the heat of a fire, dry clothes, a shower or bath, social interaction, and a modest meal after a hard day's enterprise.

But the wanderer knows that these are not, in fact, mere little things, and the devaluation of these necessities is merely a myth which the modern world has propagated since the industrial revolution brought comfort and ease which had been previously scarce. These seemingly simple things are, in fact, the most valuable in life. They are what give us true joy, purpose, and hope. A hungry man is far more motivated by a humble meal than a well-fed man is motivated by a new car. The traveling guest knows the value of small comforts while on the road, what is truly valuable, and what brings joy. It would be good practice for the rest of us to separate and clearly define our Wants as opposed to our Needs.

Oftentimes the things that we desire end up bringing us nothing but misery until, eventually, the things we wish to own become our masters. Too many folk work at jobs they despise because it pays them just enough that they can afford to buy trinkets which keep them distracted from how miserable they are in their careers. So they buy more crap to keep them contented, which means they must work more at a job they despise to afford the required barrage of distraction. If only they knew the value of those little things which bring true bliss. If only, like the one who has walked in the hills in Verse 3, they could be contented with just a little fire, a little food, some dry clothes, and a companion. The role of the good host is to identify those things which are truly needful for their guest and to provide whatever amount of those things would be appropriate.

In any social interaction, it's typical for the participants to size each other up and judge their place in the hierarchy. This process can happen either silently or spoken outright in any social gathering, but it occurs especially within the host-guest dynamic. These days it is common for a host to entertain people they know; friends, friends of friends, colleagues, or family. As such, the hierarchy has already been established, and there is no need for the host to test the character of his guest. But in the past, this was not the case. Often a traveler would rely upon the kindness of strangers for a place to sleep and eat whilst on the road, but the host would not always know what kind of person they were dealing with. Imagine if you allowed someone into your home who might have been an innocent traveler, or a wandering preacher, or a vagrant, or a fugitive, or a lunatic, or any combination of those things and more. A stranger could be anything, which means they could be truly evil and dangerous. You couldn't know until you pressed them for details, which in itself incurs the risk of danger.

So as it says in the second verse, the stranger must test his luck by the fire. This implies that the host should allow his guest to get warm by the fire while they attempt to determine their character and intentions. To refuse hospitality outright is considered to be a horrendous, even a sacrilegious, vice. But to offer hospitality unconditionally to anyone who seeks it is foolish and dangerous. In testing his luck by the fire, the traveler must assure his host that he is deserving of a place at that fire and that he is no threat to the host or his kin. Otherwise, he might struggle to find a place at the next fire and might never be invited to a gathering again.

Never forget that you are constantly being judged on your deeds past and present and that this judgment will affect how you are treated by others. Carry yourself well, speak when it is wise to do so, and always show gratitude and appreciation for the hospitality you receive. Act wisely and graciously in the company of others, or you may be cast out in the cold, your reputation might suffer, you might lose social