Heimdall

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Heimdall with the Gjallarhorn . From an Icelandic manuscript of the 18th century.

Heimdall ( Norse Heimdallr, Heimdalr or Heimdali ) is in the Norse mythology a god out of the race of gods of the Aesir , which is displayed as guardian of the gods.

etymology

The etymology of the two-part name is controversial. Bernhard Maier points out that Heimdall's etymological interpretations in the past were often based on preconceived notions about his function and are therefore not very convincing. The first name member comes from Old Norse heimr ("world, home"), but the origin of the second member cannot be precisely determined. It could be related to dalr ("valley, arch, bend") or dala ("whole, perfect"). From comparisons with vocabulary from other Germanic idioms , such as old English deal ("radiant") and Gothic dulþs ("festival"), Rudolf Simek concludes that an approximate meaning of the name as "the one who illuminates the world" can be assumed.

myth

origin

Heimdall was "born on the edge of the earth" to nine mothers who are nine giant sisters .

“Heimdall is the seventh, called the wise Ase.
He is very great and holy; this is known from him,
How wonderfully he was born in primeval times:
He was Mage for nine mothers and a son for nine sisters.
It was worn by nine of the sisters, who came from a vast country,
The peace-famous tensir, there on the edge of the earth:
Gelf, Griffin, Eistla, Urgeba, Wolfrun, Angeia, Are,
Atla and Eisensaxa gave birth to the child. "

A direct, mythological correspondence to the mothers can be found in the nine attested daughters of the sea giant Aegir : Angeyja "the adversary", Atla "the terrible", Eistla "the rapidly storming one", Eyrgjafa "the sand donor", Gjalp "the showering one", Greip "the clawed one", Jarnsaxa "the cutting cold", Imd "the hazy" and Ulfrun "the wolffish". The nine number of mothers is often interpreted as the different ocean waves.

Heimdall is descended from the giants at least on his mother's side and was probably raised by them too. The Hyndlalied continues:

"This one was strong through the power of the earth,
the cool sea and pig's blood. "

Heimdall received a starch potion, mixed from earth, sea water and pig blood.

Position in the world of the gods

Snorri Sturluson mentions Heimdall in Gylfaginning . Thereafter Heimdall is the guardian of the gods and especially guards the bridge Bifröst (the rainbow), which leads from Midgard to Asgard . Because of his guardianship, he gets by with little sleep, has excellent hearing and sharp eyes. It is also said to have golden teeth. He is also wisely called "like only the Vanes ". The rams are sacred to him ( old Norse heimdali ). Heimdall lives in Himinbjörg and rides his horse Gulltopp . The Gjallarhorn , the 'resounding horn ', is in his possession. At the beginning of the Ragnarök , the sound of the horn warns of the time that will result in the downfall of the gods.

Loki mocks Heimdall in the Lokasenna and depicts him as the wretched guardian of Asgard.

“Be silent, Heimdall! You were in the early days
given a bad life;
you will always be with a dirty back
and watch as guardians of the gods. "

In the all-decisive battle of the Ragnarök , Heimdall fights against Loki , they kill each other.

Ancestry Myths

Heimdall with Ai and Edda. Collingwood flat share, 1908

In the Völuspá Heimdall father called all people. In the shorter seer speech Völuspá in Skamma it is also said that he is "kin to all people". These indications point to an ethnogony, but are too obscure to prove that Heimdall can be regarded as the progenitor of humans.

In the poem Rigsthula he is considered the founder of the estates. Together with Modiv he fathered the sons Jarl "Fürst", Karl "Bauer" and Thrall " Knecht ". The Rigsthula is probably a didactic poem of the late Middle Ages and therefore no longer pagan. The sociogony described in it was supposed to facilitate the introduction of a monarchical class society in the sense of the princes of the time, but could follow the above myth of descent.

reception

Numerous German and Scandinavian music groups, especially in the genres of Viking Metal , Folk Metal and Pagan Metal , use the figure of Heimdall, the Gjallarhorn and other references to Heimdall in their texts.

See also

swell

literature

  • Sebastian Cöllen: Heimdallr - the enigmatic god. A philological and religious history investigation (= supplementary volumes to the Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde 94). Berlin / Boston: de Gruyter. 2015, ISBN 978-3-11-042195-8 .
  • Arnulf Krause : Reclam's lexicon of Germanic mythology and heroic saga. Stuttgart 2010.
  • Bernhard Maier : Heimdall. In: Heinrich Beck, Dieter Geuenich, Heiko Steuer (Eds.): Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde, Vol. 14. Verlag De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1999, ISBN 3-11-016423-X , p. 236 f. (on-line)
  • William Sayers: Irish Perspectives on Heimdallr. In: Alvíssmál 2. 1993, pp. 3–30 (PDF file; 242 KB) .
  • Rudolf Simek : Lexicon of Germanic Mythology (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 368). 3rd, completely revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-520-36803-X , pp. 176-177.

Web links

Commons : Heimdall  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Gerhard Köbler : Old Norse dictionary. 2nd Edition. 2003. online
  2. ↑ Felix & Therese Dahn: Germanic gods and heroic sagas. Phaidon Verlag Essen, ISBN 3-88851-223-9 , p. 17. The Dahns rely on the Hyndlalied .
  3. ↑ Arnulf Krause: The songs of the gods of the Elder Edda. Philipp-Reclam-Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-15-018426-6 , p. 203.
  4. ↑ Arnulf Krause: The songs of the gods of the Elder Edda. Philipp-Reclam-Verlag, Stuttgart, 2006, ISBN 3-15-018426-6 , p. 39.