Lays

The term "lay" originates from Old French "lai," derived from the Latin "laicus," meaning "layman" or "of the people." This likely reflects its popular, non-clerical origins in medieval vernacular poetry, as opposed to Latin ecclesiastical texts.

It was Bisliop Brynjiild Sveiusson, who collected them and brought them to light in 1643. There are two collections of Sagas, translated by the Northern Skalds, and there are two Eddas. The earliest is of unknown authorship and date and its antiquity is very great. These Sagas were collected in the Xlth century by an Icelandic priest ; the second is a collection of the iiistory (or myths) of the gods spoken of in the first, wiiich became Germanic deities, giants, dwarfs and heroes. Eden (Heb.). "Delight", pleasure. In Genesis the "Garden of Delight" built by God ; in the Kabbala the "Garden of Delight", a place of Initiation into the mysteries. Orientalists identify it with a place which was situated in Baljylonia in the district of Karduniyas. called also Gan-dunu, which is almost like the Gan-eden of the Jews. (See the works of Sir H. Rawlinson, and G. Smith.) That district has four rivers. Euphrates, Tigris, Surappi, Fkni. The two first have been adopted without any change by the Jews: the other two they have probably transformed into "Gihon and Pi.son", so as to have something original. The following are some of the reasons for the identification of Eden, given by Assyriologists. The cities of Babylon, Larancha and Sippara, were founded before the flood, according to the chronology of the Jews. "Surippak was the city of the ark, the mountain east of the Tigris was the resting place of the ark, Babylon was the site of the tower, and Ur of the Chaldees the birthplace of Abraham." And, as Abraham, "the first leader of the Hebrew race, migrated from Ur to Ilarran in Syria and from thence to Palestine", the best Assyriologists think that it is "so 102 THEIXSOI'IIICAL much evidonco in favor of tin- hypothesis that Chahlca was the ori{?inal homo of these stories (in the liibh' ) and that the Jews receivi<l them originally from the Babylonians". Edom lllih.). Kdoinitc Kinjrs. A dctjiiy eonerah'd mystery is to be found in the allej^ory of the seven Kinjrs of Edom. who "reifi^ned in the land of p]dom before there rei<rned any King over the ehildreii of Israel''. (Gen. xx.wi, 31.) The Kabbala teaeiies that tiiis Kingdom was one of "unbalanced forces" and necessarily of unstable character. The world of Israel is a type of the condition of the worlds which came into existence subsequently to the later i)eriod when the equilil)rium had become established, fw.w.w.] On the other hand the Eastern Esoteric philosoi)hy teaclies that the seven Kings of Edom are not the ty

The term "lay," in its most resonant application, points to the poetic narratives that formed the bedrock of Old Norse culture. These were not mere historical chronicles but vibrant tapestries woven from myth, legend, and the stark realities of human endeavor. As Mircea Eliade observed in his studies of archaic religions, myth and narrative are fundamental to how societies understand their origins and their place in the cosmos. The skalds, the poets of these lays, were not simply entertainers; they were keepers of the sacred memory, their verses acting as conduits to the divine and the ancestral.

Consider the Eddas, collections that preserve many of these lays. They offer glimpses into a world where gods like Odin and Thor engaged in titanic struggles, where giants threatened the cosmic order, and where heroes like Sigurd faced dragons and betrayals. These stories, embedded in poetic form, provided moral frameworks and archetypal patterns for understanding life's challenges. The very structure of the lays, often employing specific meters and kennings (poetic metaphors), demanded a deep engagement from the listener, fostering a communal experience of shared cultural heritage.

The connection to the word "laicus," meaning "lay" or "of the people," is significant. It suggests that these lays were accessible and meaningful to the broader populace, not confined to the cloistered halls of religious scholars. They were the stories sung in mead halls, recited during long winter nights, and passed down through families. This popular transmission is akin to the oral traditions studied by scholars like Idries Shah, who emphasized the vital role of narrative in conveying wisdom and cultural continuity outside formal institutions. The lays, therefore, represent a powerful example of how poetry can serve as a vessel for profound cultural and spiritual understanding, bridging the gap between the divine and the human experience. They remind us that the most enduring truths are often found not in abstract pronouncements but in the resonant cadence of a well-told story.