In Norse mythology, Heimdall (from Old Norse Heimdallr; modern Icelandic Heimdallur) is a god. He is the son of the nine sisters. Heimdall keeps watch for invaders and the onset of Ragnarök from his dwelling Himinbjörg, where the burning rainbow bridge Bifröst meets the sky. He is attested as possessing foreknowledge and keen senses, particularly eyesight and hearing. The god and his possessions are described in enigmatic manners. For example, Heimdall is golden-toothed, "the head is called his sword", and he is "the whitest of the gods."
Heimdall possesses the resounding horn Gjallarhorn and the golden-maned horse Gulltoppr, along with a store of mead at his dwelling. He is the son of nine mothers, and he is said to be the originator of social classes among humanity. Other notable stories include the recovery of Freyja's treasured possession Brísingamen while doing battle in the shape of a seal with Loki. The antagonistic relationship between Heimdall and Loki is notable, as they are foretold to kill one another during the events of Ragnarök. Heimdallr is also known as Rig, Hallinskiði, Gullintanni, and Vindlér or Vindhlér.
Heimdall is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material; in the Prose Edda and Heimskringla, both written in the 13th century; in the poetry of skalds; and likely in a runic inscription on the Saltfleetby spindle-whorl found in England. Two lines of an otherwise lost poem about the god, Heimdalargaldr, survive. Due to the enigmatic nature of these attestations, scholars have produced various theories about the nature of the god, including his relation to sheep, borders, and waves.
Names and etymology The etymology of the name is obscure, but 'the one who illuminates the world' has been proposed. Heimdallr may be connected to Mardöll, one of Freyja's names.Simek (2007:135 and 202). Heimdallr and its variants are usually anglicized as Heimdall (;"Heimdall". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. with the nominative -r dropped).
Heimdall is attested as having three other names; Hallinskiði, Gullintanni, and Vindlér or Vindhlér. The name Hallinskiði is obscure, but has resulted in a series of attempts at deciphering it. Gullintanni literally means 'the one with the golden teeth'. Vindlér (or Vindhlér) translates as either 'the one protecting against the wind' or 'wind-sea'. All three have resulted in numerous theories about the god.Simek (2007:122, 128, and 363).
Attestations Saltfleetby spindle-whorl inscription
Heimdallr is likely mentioned on the Saltfleetby spindle-whorl, a lead spindle whorl bearing an Old Norse Younger Fuþark inscription that was discovered in Saltfleetby in eastern England in 2010. The spindle-whorl itself is dated from the 10th to 12th centuries CE, with the writing possibly being added significantly after the object was made. Whilst there are difficulties in interpreting the inscription, it likely records a charm asking for help from Odin, Heimdallr and , a figure whose name closely resembles that of Þjálfi, one of Thor's servants. The religion of the writer is debated, with the invoking of Germanic gods not procluding adherence to Christianity, but also possibly attesting to the continuing of Old Nordic religion in some English communities significantly after the establishment of Christianity in the region.
Poetic Edda 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.Thorpe (1866:3).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.Bellows (1923:3).
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).See discussion at Thorpe (1866:3), Bellows (1923:3), and Larrington (1999:264).
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:
Benjamin Thorpe translation: Mim's sons dance, but the central tree takes fire, at the resounding Giallar-horn. Loud blows Heimdall, his horn is raised; Odin speaks with Mim's head.Thorpe (1866:9).Henry Adams Bellows translation: Fast move the sons of Mim and fate Is heard in the note of the Gjallarhorn; Loud blows Heimdall, the horn is aloft, In fear quake all who on Hel-roads are.Bellows (1923:20). See connected footnote for information on manuscript and editing variations. 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.Orchard (1997:57).
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?Thorpe (1866:7).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?Bellows (1932:12).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?Larrington (1999:7).
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".Schach (1985:93).
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."Larrington (1999:265).
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.Thorpe (1866:21).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.Bellows (1923:90).
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".
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.Larrington (1999:92).
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."Thorpe (1866:64).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."Bellows (1923:178).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.Dodds (2014:110). '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.'Dodds (2014:110).
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).Lindow (2002:170).
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.Larrington (1999:246—252).