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Hammer Sign & Rite - by Dirk Schmitt

The following is the resultant of my investigations into the origins of the
Hammer Sign and Rite, as expressed by some having specific evidence in the literary
corpus.

Firstly, we'll address the text provided by Cleasby Vigfusson vis:

HAMARR, m., dat. hamri, pl. hamrar, [A. S. hamor; Engl. hammer; O. H. G.
hamar; Germ. and Dan. hammer; Swed. hammare] :-- a hammer; h. töng, steði,
Edda 9, Vkv. 18, Landn. 212 (in a verse); the thunderbolt was in the
northern mythology represented as a hammer, - the hammer Mjölnir, Edda
(Sksm.) 15, 26, 28-30, 58, 70, passim, þkv. passim, Hbl. 47; hann (the idol)
var merkðr eptir þór ok hefir hamar í hendi, Ó. H. 108, O. T. 44;
þrúð-hamarr, the mighty hammer, Ls. 57, 59, 61, 63: the hammer was the holy
sign with the heathens, answering to the cross of the Christians, hann görði
hamar yfir, he made the sign of the hammer over it, Fms. i. 35; þórr tók
harnarinn Mjölni ok brá upp ok vígði hafr-stökurnar, Edda 28, cp. also þkv.
30, where the bride and bridegroom were to be marked with the holy sign;
hence Þórs-hamarr = the character (swastika), which occurs on a few of the
earliest heathen Runic stones (e. g. Thorsen, pp. 17, 329), cp. also Ísl.
þjóðs. i. 446; this (swastika) is evidently an imitation of the thunderbolt.
ß. the back of an axe, Eg. 769. COMPDS: hamar-gangr, m. hammer-clash, Stj.
45. hamars-högg, n. a hammer stroke, Stj. 563. hamars-muðr (-munnr, -munni),
m. the ' mouth' or thin end of a hammer, Edda 30. hamar-skalli, a, m. the
thick end of a hammer, Fms. viii. 138. hamar-skapt, n. the shaft or handle
of a hammer, Edda 28. hamar-spor, n. a hammer s print, Edda 34. II. metaph.
a hammer-shaped crag, a crag standing out like an anvil; þar stendr hamarr
mikill fyrir þeim, Bs. i. 601; þeir leggja skip sin millum hamra tveggja,
Grett. 83, Fas. iii. 257; þrítugr, fertugr ... hamarr, a crag thirty, forty
... fathoms high, i. 159: so in the saying, kljúfa þrítugan hamarinn til
e-s, to split a thirty fathoms' rock, to make great efforts, to make
Herculean efforts in a thing, metaph. from cutting roads through rocks: in
pl. hamrar, crags; fluga-hamrar, sjávar- hamrar, sea-crags; ogres were
believed to live in crags, hence the phrase, sem genginn út úr hömrum, i. e.
looking as wild as a crag-ogre, svá illiligr sem genginn sé út ór
sjávar-hömrum, Nj. 182. COMPDS: (hamar- and hamra-), hamar-troll, n. a
crag-ogre, Grett. (in a verse). hamar-dalr, m. a ravine, Karl. 292.
hamar-gnipa, u, f. the peak of a crag, Stj. 134, Fms. v. 323, fxjrf. Karl.
414. hamar-klettr, m. a crag (isolated), Fms. !i. 92, Nj. 264, v. 1.
hamar-klif, n. a craggy cliff, Gísl. 137. hamar-rifa, u, f. a rift in a
crag, Fb. iii. 447. hamar-skarð and hamra-skarð, n. a scaur, cleft or
ravine, Grett. 132, Gísl. 51, Grág. i. 17. hamar-skúti, a, m. a jutting
crag, Nj. 264; gja-h., q. v.: esp. freq. in local names in Icel. and Norway,
Hamarr, Hamrar, Hamra-endar, Hamars-a: in compds, Smá-hamrar, Ein-hamarr, a
single crag, Gísl., etc., vide Landn., Fms. xii, Fb. iii. 2. a kind of mark
on sbeeps' ears, prob. of heathen origin, denot-ing the holy mark of the
hammer of Thor: cutting the top of the ear thus (sign) is called hamar,
whence hamar-skora, u, f. a cleft hamar (sign); cp. the ditty of Stef. Ól.,
Hamarinn mér í greipar gékk | það gæfu-markið fina, and hamar-skoru og
gloppu-gat | görðu í hægra eyra. 3. a kind of fish, Edda (Gl.): prop, a
false reading for humarr (q. v.), a lobster

So, we have the following from the Cleasby Vigfusson entry:

"the hammer was the holy sign with the heathens, answering to the cross of
the Christians, hann görði hamar yfir, he made the sign of the hammer over
it, Fms. i. 35"

Now, this is the only reference to Hammer Sign. The one, and the only.
There is no other.

Okay, let's take a look at Signa:

SIGNA, in pres. signi; pret, signdi, but also signaði; part. signt and
signat. This word occurs in one of the oldest heathen poems, and is applied
to a northern heathen rite; it is common to all Teut. languages except
Gothic; yet as no 'laut-verschiebung' has taken place, it may be borrowed
from the Latin, and perhaps came in with the earliest missions, cp. the
remarks s. v. prim-signing: or sigr and signa may possibly be kindred words?
[Hel. seginon; Germ, segnen; Lat. signare] : -- to sign, consecrate; signa
e-m e-t: I. in a heathen sense, see the remarks on hamarr; signa full, to
sign the goblet with the sign of the hammer before drinking, Sdm. 8; enn er
hit fyrsta full var skenkt, þá mælti Sigurðr jarl fyrir, ok signaði Óðni ...
Sigurðr jarl mælti, konnngr görir svá sem þeir göra allir, er trúa á mátt
sinn ok megin, ok signa full sitt þór, hann görði hamars-mark yfir áðr hann
drakk, Hkr. i. 143; en sá er gorði veizluna ok höfþingi var, þá skyldi hann
signa fullit ok allan blótmatinn, 139; signdi Bárðr fullit, Eg. 210 (öi þat
er Bárröðr signdi, in a verse, l.c.); þar vóru minni öll signuð Ásum at
fornum sið, O. H. 102; þá blætr hann heiðnar vættir, ef hann signir fé sitt
öðrum en Guði, K.þ. K.; þeir eru gumnar goðum signaðir, Hdl. 27; skylda ek
Vikir goðum of signa. Fas. iii. (in a verse); mi eru hér tólf hreinbjálfar
er ek vil þér gefit hafa. hefi ek þá svá signaða ok magnaþa (charmed and
bewitched) at engan þeirra mun járn bita, Fb. iii. 245. II. to sign with
the cross; sem páfinn leit þá, sipnaði hann þá, Karl. 303; páiinn signdi
inatinn, 20; gengu þeir undir borð ok signdu mat sinn, Eb. 268; áðr matrinn
var signdr, Fms. vii. 159; er hann signdi Dróttinn várn með sinni hendi,
625. 63 (of the sign of the cross in baptism) :-- signa sik, to sign
oneself with a cross on the forehead and breast; þan sigudu sik ok sveininn,
Nj. 201, Barl. 207; sign þik eigi, Th. 3; þá er hann hi-fir signt sik, 655
xi. 4; ekki frá ek hann signdi sik, Skiða R. 44; hón signdi sik ok mælti,
þetta er úfæra, Grett. 150 new Ed.; þorsteinn vakti hana, biðr hana signa
sik, ok biðja Guð hjálpar, þorf. Karl. 396. 2. [Germ. segnen; Dan.,
Swed., and Norse signe, signa], to bless; henni mun ek bleza ok hana
signa, Stj. 115; er Guð signdi ok þangat sendi, Karl. 289; Guð signi yðr !
Art.; signi Guð ykkr báða, Skíða R. 118; vel ert þú signuð af siálfum
Guði, Stj. 424; komi þér, vel signaðir (Dan. vel-signet), til mins
Föður ríkis, Hom. 156; hins signaða Magmúss, the blessed Magnus. Magn. 512;
hans sigauðu móður, Th. 25, Kb. 422; signaðr Ólafr, Fms. v. 222; hans
signaði líkamr, Th. 28: van-signdr, cursed, Mar.: the word in this sense has
been superseded by bleza, q.v.

The first listing we have above is from Sigdrifumal, however, all
translations are given as Bless. There is no indication of exactly what
form the blessing takes. Lets look at the actual translations from a couple
of authors:

Hollander 9

Thy beaker bless to banish fear,
and cast a leek in thy cup:
then know I that never thou needest fear
that bale in thy beer there be

Arild Hauge 8

Bless your cup
against deceit and stratagem
and put then onion in the drink;
Then I know
that you never drink
poisoned mead

Bellows 8

Ale-runes learn, that with lies the wife
Of another betray not thy trust;
On the horn thou shalt write, and the backs of thy hands,
And Need shalt thou mark on thy nails.
Thou shalt bless the draught, and danger escape,
And cast a leek in the cup;
(For so I know thou never shalt see
Thy mead with evil mixed.)
(Ed. Need here stands for nauthiz, and 'leek', laguz.)

Thorpe 8

A cup must be blessed,
and against peril guarded,
and garlick in the liquor cast:
then I know
thou wilt never have
mead with treachery mingled.

Guðni Jónsson Normalised Spelling

Full skal signa
ok við fári sjá
ok verpa lauki í lög;
þá ek þat veit,
at þér verðr aldri
meinblandinn mjöðr.

Now, the whole section here is speaking of Runes, and in fact, if we look at
the pattern of the text, the Runes are noted first. So, in this case, it
can be strongly argued that we have in fact a continuation (as bellows does)
to the verse which is still speaking of Runes, and that one should sign them
above the Meadcup. Certainly it can be argued that this is the sign of the
Hammer, however, it isn't stated directly here, nor does such a statement
fit the context of the work.

Heimskringla is the next listing, and indeed we find ourselves once again
with the Saga of Hakon the Good, and the section which specifically states
the Hamars-mark in relation to what the King was doing when signing the
Cross over the horn. Again, this is the only instance of direct mentioning
of the Hamars-mark, in this instance noted as being the Sign of Thor. The
following listings are also from Heimskringla (139, 210)

K þ K refers to Kristinn-réttr þorláks which is the Norwegian Christian
Laws, and this particular statement refers to the sign of the Cross.

Hyndlulioð 25 - Bellows

"The sons of Jormunrek | all of yore
To the gods in death | were as offerings given;

Thorpe 28

Harald Heildetönn,
born of Hrærekir
Slöngvanbaugi;
he was a son of Aud,
Aud the rich
was Ivar's daugther;
but Radbard was
Randver's father.
They were heroes
to the gods devoted.
All that race is thine,
Ottar Heimski!

Auden/Taylor 28

"Harald Wareooth was to Hrærek born,
the sower-of-rings: he the son was of Auth;
Auth the Deep-Minded was Ívar's daughter;
Ráthbareh was Randvér's father:
were given to the gods these goodly men,
your sib all these, silly Óttar!"

If we review the above translations and look at the context of this passage,
clearly we are actually dealing with a statement that in this instance, the
word signa seems to indicate more the notion of a gift to the gods and
goddesses. The connection with the notion of Signa in the Saga of Hakon the
Good becomes clearer, as it seems more likely to be dealing with the gifting
to the Gods, where the statement in Hakon the Good, indicates "signaði Oðni"
and "signa full sitt þor", are quite probably referring to the concept of
gifting.

The next reference we have is to the Flateyjar-bók which contains primarily
the Heimskringla. However, it is interesting to note that here the
translation 'charmed' is given for signaða (signaða ok magnaða). This
translation once again points to the magical nature of signa and it may be
interesting to consider that the Flateyjar-bók, being written in the 14th
Century, a great deal of time after the Heathen period has changed the
character of the term to a great extent. This tends to be a pattern with
Christian writers dealing with Heathen material (refer Snorri works, etc.).

I'll not bother dealing with later material which specifically deals with
the signing of the Cross, as by that time, the nature of the very term Signa
(as can be seen above) has changed rather dramatically.

Now, again, the vast majority of material comes from manuscripts which are
either directly the Heimskringla, or have much of the Heimskringla in their
corpus.

Therefore it is my contention that the Hammer Rite has no reference point in
historically based Heathen Lore.

So, where does the Hammer Rite come from? Well, those whom started the
revivification of our ancestral Folkways, at first had little to go upon,
given the time period that most were operating in (late 1970's and early
1980's). Access to good information was difficult without access to
Universities, and hence to create a corpus of rites and rituals to perform,
people looked to Ceremonial Magic and Witchcraft for ideas. The Hammer Rite
as found in "A Book of Troth" by Edred Thorsson (Steven Flowers), is a
variation on the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, with a Hammer
typically taking the place of the Dagger. The Cross is replaced by the Sign
of the Hammer (invented at the same time) and the vocals are no longer based
on the Lords Prayer, but instead usually given as being gods and/or
goddeesses of our ancestral Folkway. The LBRP only does in front, behind
and to each side, where-as the Hammer Rite includes above and below, but
still closes with the same form of wording of "about me, and within."

Lastly, it should be noted, if one uses the Hammer Rite, or the Hammer Sign,
that's fine. There isn't any proclusion to its usage in-so-far as it is a
technique which seems to suite the requirements of many people. However, it
should be clear from the above investigation that it has no basis in our
ancestral Folkways save for a single reference in a saga written 400 years
after the official conversion of Iceland, and some 450 years after the
events which are supposed to have taken place. Maybe the events did take
place exactly as written, but then again, maybe they did not. And it is
quite possible, that even if a sign was known or used as the Hamars-mark,
the difference in time frame, and the person doing the writing, being a
Christian, probably didn't have exact information to hand, and was using
their own reference point as being the only one possible (this is common in
the time frame of the writing taking place). Inquisitions were known to
have taken place as early as the 12th and 13th Centuries. The Malleus
Maleficarum would be written just 100 years after the Heimskringla. This is
the environs within which Christian scholars had to work, even in the
relative remoteness of Scandinavia. After all, the conversion practices of
Olaf Tryggvason no doubt were common practice for persons whom would have
been accused of being Heathen. I am certain of one thing, the matter will
be debated by many for years, but the only thing that we can 100% say with
any veracity, is that there is no conclusive proof one way or the other. In
my own case, I have left the Hammer Rite and Hammer Sign behind, and those
whom choose to stand with me at Blót seem to be happy enough with the
decision.

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