Note IV-20 — Chapter IV · ANIMAL MYTHOLOGY.
Reading edition
Brinton's Myths, p. 205. The Norse belief is akin to this:—
'The giant Hrsuelgur, At the end of heaven, Sits in an eagle's form; 'Tis said that from his wings The cold winds sweep Over all the nations.' Vafthrudvers maal; Grenville Pigott's translation, in Scandinavian Mythology, p. 27.
Scott, Pirate, chap. v., in the 'Song of the Tempest,' which he translates from Norna's mouth, shows that the same idea is still found in the Shetland Islands:—
'Stern eagle of the far north-west, Thou that bearest in thy grasp the thunderbolt, Thou whose rushing pinions stir ocean to madness, ... Cease thou the waving of thy pinions, Let the ocean repose in her dark strength; Cease thou the flashing of thine eyes, Let the thunderbolt sleep in the armory of Odin.'