Note: This short piece was originally written for a seminar class on the Heliand at Georgetown University in 2018
A son would be granted to her, born in Bethlehem, the strongest child, the most powerful of kings, the Great One come powerfully to the light of mankind – Song 5
In the cold heart of a Norwegian winter, the frail rays of sunlight illuminate the barren landscape for under six hours a day. The natives adorn their homes with wreaths and candles, not realizing that they are encouraging the sun to halt its movement south into darkness, and to turn north again. Their ancestors feared the grave consequences should the sun continue to slip south on the horizon. Three continuous winters signified Ragnarok, the end of the world. At doomsday, fire giants are destined to march up the bilröst, the rainbow road between Middlegard and Asgard. The bridge will shatter under their weight and the stars of heaven making up the bifröst – the Milky Way – will fall.
The confluence of Germanic and Christian beliefs brought new significance to the meaning of light. Jesus Christ is the light of the world because his life and suffering allowed people to see for the first time, to realize the significance of the crucifixion. In the very center of the ninth century Heliand, Song 38, is the transfiguration. The author describes Christ: “His cheeks became shining light, radiating like the bright sun. The Son of God was shining! His body gave off light, brilliant rays came shining out of the Ruler’s Son.” Christ is light itself; He is awareness and beauty. Yet there is a deeper connection with Germanic beliefs as well. After the transfiguration, “it became so blissful up on the mountain – the bright light was shining, there was a magnificent garden there and the green meadow, it was like paradise!” The author has subtly incorporated the bifröst: Christ has brought the light of Germanic paradise – the green meadow – to the light of earth.
The idea that Christ embodies the rainbow connecting Asgard and Middlegard is wonderfully depicted on the Jelling stone. The monument was constructed by Harald Bluetooth, the king and converter of Denmark, between 960-970. Originally painted in brilliant colors, the stone portrays an untraditional crucifixion. Christ is not mounted on a cross, but bound by plant tendrils. He suffers on the branches of Yggdrasil in Middlegard: He has descended from that other light to accept the measure of the Norns in this light. His bright white robes mark Him as the hvite krist: He is the shimmering bilröst. Christ’s brightness illuminates the road to the Kingdom of Heaven – it is through his death and resurrection that man is saved. Only then is man free from his blindness; only then does he weep with the rest of nature.
In the Heliand, the author identifies Christ as the light road even more explicitly. At the resurrection scene in Song 68, the Holy Spirit travels by God’s power “under the hard stone to the corpse” of Christ; it travels from the other light to this light. In a climactic moment, Christ rises, light shines forth upon the world, and “the road from this world up to heaven was built!” Mankind is saved! The light of the world has forged the path to Asgard! In the next Song, Song 69, the Son of God “was as radiant and blissfully beaming as a brilliant light! His clothes were like a uuintarcaldon sneuue.” Christ is light itself, wearing a tunic as white as winter snow just as He was shown to be wearing on the Jelling stone.
Christ’s radiance illuminates the beauty of the world and His teachings enlighten those who listen. The special significance of light in the North as the road between heaven and earth is expanded with the introduction of Christianity. Thereafter, Christ became the symbol of this divine light on earth, which brings wisdom and joy to all who see it. Humanity was in darkness as Hel dragged the sun to the south. The sky darkened when Christ died. Today, His glorious resurrection – the eternal light of the world – is honored by the candles decorating our wreaths and Christmas trees at Yuletide.