Heimdall

A lead spindle whorl bearing an Old Norse Younger Futhark inscription that mentions Heimdall was discovered in Saltfleetby, England on September 1, 2010. The spindle whorl itself is dated from the year 1000 to 1100 AD. On the inscription, the god Heimdallr is mentioned alongside the god Odin and Þjálfi, a name of one of the god Thor's servants. Regarding the inscription reading, John Hines of Cardiff University comments that there is "quite an essay to be written over the uncertainties of translation and identification here; what are clear, and very important, are the names of two of the Norse gods on the side, Odin and Heimdallr, while Þjalfi (masculine, not the feminine in -a) is the recorded name of a servant of the god Thor."[4]

In the Poetic Edda, Heimdall is attested in six poems; Völuspá, Grímnismál, Lokasenna, Þrymskviða, Rígsþula, and Hrafnagaldr Óðins.

Heimdall is mentioned three times in Völuspá. In the first stanza of the poem, the undead völva reciting the poem calls out for listeners to be silent and refers to the Norse god:

Benjamin Thorpe translation: For silence I pray all sacred children, great and small, sons of Heimdall. they will that I Valfather's deeds recount, men's ancient saws, those that I best remember.[5]

Henry Adams Bellows translation: Hearing I ask from the holy races, From Heimdall's sons, both high and low; Thou wilt, Valfather, that well I relate. Old tales I remember of men long ago.[6]

This stanza has led to various scholarly interpretations. The "holy races" have been considered variously as either humanity or the gods. The notion of humanity as "Heimdall's sons" is otherwise unattested and has also resulted in various interpretations. Some scholars have pointed to the prose introduction to the poem Rígsþula, where Heimdall is said to have once gone about people, slept between couples, and so doled out classes among them (see Rígsthula section below).[7]

Heimdall blows Gjallarhorn in an 1895 illustration by Lorenz Frølich

Later in Völuspá, the völva foresees the events of Ragnarök and the role in which Heimdall and Gjallarhorn will play at its onset; Heimdall will raise his horn and blow loudly. Due to manuscript differences, translations of the stanza vary:

Regarding this stanza, scholar Andy Orchard comments that the name Gjallarhorn may here mean "horn of the river Gjöll" as "Gjöll is the name of one of the rivers of the Underworld, whence much wisdom is held to derive", but notes that in the poem Grímnismál Heimdall is said to drink fine mead in his heavenly home Himinbjörg.[10]

Earlier in the same poem, the völva mentions a scenario involving the hearing or horn (depending on translation of the Old Norse noun hljóð—translations bolded below for the purpose of illustration) of the god Heimdall:

Benjamin Thorpe translation: She knows that Heimdall's horn is hidden under the heaven-bright holy tree. A river she sees flow, with foamy fall, from Valfather's pledge. Understand ye yet, or what?[11]

Henry Adams Bellows translation: I know of the horn of Heimdall, hidden Under the high-reaching holy tree; On it there pours from Valfather's pledge A mighty stream: would you know yet more?[12]

Carolyne Larrington translation: She knows that Heimdall's hearing is hidden under the radiant, sacred tree; she sees, pouring down, the muddy torrent from the wager of Father of the Slain; do you understand yet, or what more?[13]

Scholar Paul Schach comments that the stanzas in this section of Völuspá are "all very mysterious and obscure, as it was perhaps meant to be". Schach details that "Heimdallar hljóð has aroused much speculation. Snorri [in the Prose Edda] seems to have confused this word with gjallarhorn, but there is otherwise no attestation of the use of hljóð in the sense of 'horn' in Icelandic. Various scholars have read this as "hearing" rather than "horn".[14]

Scholar Carolyne Larrington comments that if "hearing" rather than "horn" is understood to appear in this stanza, the stanza indicates that Heimdall, like Odin, has left a body part in the well; his ear. Larrington says that "Odin exchanged one of his eyes for wisdom from Mimir, guardian of the well, while Heimdall seems to have forfeited his ear."[15]

In the poem Grímnismál, Odin (disguised as Grímnir), tortured, starved and thirsty, tells the young Agnar of a number of mythological locations. The eighth location he mentions is Himinbjörg, where he says that Heimdall drinks fine mead:

Benjamin Thorpe translation: Himinbiörg is the eighth, where Heimdall, it is said, rules o'er the holy fanes: there the gods' watchman, in his tranquil home, drinks joyful the good mead.[16]

Henry Adams Bellows translation: Himingbjorg is the eighth, and Heimdall there O'er men holds sway, it is said; In his well-built house does the warder of heaven The good mead gladly drink.[17]

Regarding the above stanza, Henry Adams Bellows comments that "in this stanza the two functions of Heimdall—as father of humanity [ . . . ] and as warder of the gods—seem both to be mentioned, but the second line in the manuscripts is apparently in bad shape, and in the editions it is more or less conjecture".[17]

In the poem Lokasenna, Loki flyts with various gods who have met together to feast. At one point during the exchanges, the god Heimdall says that Loki is drunk and witless, and asks Loki why he won't stop speaking. Loki tells Heimdall to be silent, that he was fated a "hateful life", that Heimdall must always have a muddy back, and that he must serve as watchman of the gods. The goddess Skaði interjects and the flyting continues in turn.[18]

The poem Þrymskviða tells of Thor's loss of his hammer, Mjöllnir, to the jötnar and quest to get it back. At one point in the tale, the gods gather at the thing and debate how to get Thor's hammer back from the jötnar, who demand the beautiful goddess Freyja in return for it. Heimdall advises that they simply dress Thor up as Freyja, during which he is described as hvítastr ása (translations of the phrase vary below) and is said to have foresight like the Vanir, a group of gods:

Benjamin Thorpe translation: Then said Heimdall, of Æsir brightest— he well foresaw, like other Vanir— Let us clothe Thor with bridal raiment, let him have the famed Brîsinga necklace. "Let by his side keys jingle, and woman's weeds fall around his knees, but on his breast place precious stones, and a neat coif set on his head."[19]

Henry Adams Bellows translation: Then Heimdall spake, whitest of the gods, Like the Wanes he knew the future well: "Bind we on Thor the bridal veil, Let him bear the mighty Brisings' necklace; "Keys around him let there rattle, And down to his knees hang woman's dress; With gems full broad upon his breast, And a pretty cap to crown his head."[20]

Jeramy Dodds translation: The most glittering of gods, Heimdall, who, like the Vanir, is gifted with the gift of foresight, said: 'Let's strap a bridal veil over Thor's face and let him don the Brising necklace.[21] 'Let the wedlock keys jingle around his waist, and dress him in a woman's dress to his knees and loop giant gems across his chest and top him off with a stylish headdress.'[21]

Regarding Heimdall's status as hvítastr ása (variously translated above as "brightest" (Thorpe), "whitest" (Bellows), and "most glittering" (Dodds)) and the comparison to the Vanir, scholar John Lindow comments that there are no other indications of Heimdall being considered among the Vanir (on Heimdall's status as "hvítastr ása ", see "scholarly reception" below).[22]

Rig in Great-grandfather's Cottage (1908) by W. G. Collingwood

The introductory prose to the poem Rígsþula says that "people say in the old stories" that Heimdall, described as a god among the Æsir, once fared on a journey. Heimdall wandered along a seashore, and referred to himself as Rígr. In the poem, Rígr, who is described as a wise and powerful god, walks in the middle of roads on his way to steads, where he meets a variety of couples and dines with them, giving them advice and spending three nights at a time between them in their bed. The wives of the couples become pregnant, and from them come the various classes of humanity.[23]

Eventually a warrior home produces a promising boy, and as the boy grows older, Rígr comes out of a thicket, teaches the boy runes, gives him a name, and proclaims him to be his son. Rígr tells him to strike out and get land for himself. The boy does so, and so becomes a great war leader with many estates. He marries a beautiful woman and the two have many children and are happy. One of the children eventually becomes so skilled that he is able to share in runic knowledge with Heimdall, and so earns the title of Rígr himself. The poem breaks off without further mention of the god.[23]

The cock Gullinkambi atop his head and the burning rainbow bridge Bifröst in the background, Heimdall blows into Gjallarhorn while holding a sword with a man's face on it (a reference to the "man's head" kenning). Illustration (1907) by J. T. Lundbye.

In the Prose Edda, Heimdall is mentioned in the books Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál, and Háttatal. In Gylfaginning, the enthroned figure of High tells the disguised mythical king Gangleri of various gods, and, in chapter 25, mentions Heimdall. High says that Heimdall is known as "the white As", is "great and holy", and that nine maidens, all sisters, gave birth to him. Heimdall is called Hallinskiði and Gullintanni, and he has gold teeth. High continues that Heimdall lives in "a place" called Himinbjörg and that it is near Bifröst. Heimdall is the watchman of the gods, and he sits on the edge of heaven to guard the Bifröst bridge from the berg jötnar. Heimdall requires less sleep than a bird, can see at night just as well as if it were day, and for over a hundred leagues. Heimdall's hearing is also quite keen; he can hear grass as it grows on the earth, wool as it grows on sheep, and anything louder. Heimdall possesses a trumpet, Gjallarhorn, that, when blown, can be heard in all worlds, and "the head is referred to as Heimdall's sword". High then quotes the above-mentioned Grímnismál stanza about Himinbjörg and provides two lines from the otherwise lost poem about Heimdall, Heimdalargaldr, in which he proclaims himself to be the son of Nine Mothers.[24]

In chapter 49, High tells of the god Baldr's funeral procession. Various deities are mentioned as having attended, including Heimdall, who there rode his horse Gulltopr.[25]

In chapter 51, High foretells the events of Ragnarök. After the enemies of the gods will gather at the plain Vígríðr, Heimdall will stand and mightily blow into Gjallarhorn. The gods will awake and assemble together at the thing. At the end of the battle between various gods and their enemies, Heimdall will face Loki and they will kill one another. After, the world will be engulfed in flames. High then quotes the above-mentioned stanza regarding Heimdall raising his horn in Völuspá.[26]

At the beginning of Skáldskaparmál, Heimdall is mentioned as having attended a banquet in Asgard with various other deities.[27] Later in the book, Húsdrápa, a poem by 10th century skald Úlfr Uggason, is cited, during which Heimdall is described as having ridden to Baldr's funeral pyre.[28]

In chapter 8, means of referring to Heimdall are provided; "son of nine mothers", "guardian of the gods", "the white As" (see Poetic Edda discussion regarding hvítastr ása above), "Loki's enemy", and "recoverer of Freyja's necklace". The section adds that the poem Heimdalargaldr is about him, and that, since the poem, "the head has been called Heimdall's doom: man's doom is an expression for sword". Hiemdallr is the owner of Gulltoppr, is also known as Vindhlér, and is a son of Odin. Heimdall visits Vágasker and Singasteinn and there vied with Loki for Brísingamen. According to the chapter, the skald Úlfr Uggason composed a large section of his Húsdrápa about these events and that Húsdrápa says that the two were in the shape of seals. A few chapters later, ways of referring to Loki are provided, including "wrangler with Heimdall and Skadi", and section of Úlfr Uggason's Húsdrápa is then provided in reference:

Renowned defender [Heimdall] of the powers' way [Bifrost], kind of counsel, competes with Farbauti's terribly sly son at Singastein. Son of eight mothers plus one, might of mood, is first to get hold of the beautiful sea-kidney [jewel, Brisingamen]. I announce it in strands of praise.

The chapter points out that in the above Húsdrápa section Heimdall is said to be the son of nine mothers.[29]

Heimdall is mentioned once in Háttatal. There, in a composition by Snorri Sturluson, a sword is referred to as "Vindhlér's helmet-filler", meaning "Heimdall's head".[30]

In Ynglinga saga compiled in Heimskringla, Snorri presents a euhemerized origin of the Norse gods and rulers descending from them. In chapter 5, Snorri asserts that the Æsir settled in what is now Sweden and built various temples. Snorri writes that Odin settled in Lake Logrin "at a place which formerly was called Sigtúnir. There he erected a large temple and made sacrifices according to the custom of the Æsir. He took possession of the land as far as he had called it Sigtúnir. He gave dwelling places to the temple priests." Snorri adds that, after this, Njörðr dwelt in Nóatún, Freyr dwelt in Uppsala, Heimdall at Himinbjörg, Thor at Þrúðvangr, Baldr at Breiðablik and that to everyone Odin gave fine estates.[31]