#rigsthula

"The Gifts of Rig"

Original Artwork By Scott Sterling

HEIMDALL

Heimdall ᚺᛖᛝᛗᛞᚫᛚᛚ (dr. Scand. Heimdallr) - a god of the Æsir, a guardian of the gods and the world tree, is considered the son of Odin and nine mothers. “The brightest of the Æsir”, “foreseeing the future like the Vanir.”

During one of his walks along the sea coast, Odin saw nine beautiful giants, wave maidens: Gyalp, Greyn, Aistla, Eirgyava, Angeya, Atla, Ulvrun, Imd and Järsnaksu sleeping soundly on the white sand. According to the Edda, Allfather was so fascinated by these beautiful creatures that they all became his wives and together gave birth to one son named Heimdall.

Of nine mothers, I am a child, the son of nine sisters.

(Elder Edda)

The nine mothers began to feed their child with the power of the earth, the moisture of the sea and the heat of the sun. Thanks to this diet, the new god reached maturity in a very short time and hastened to his father in Asgard. Heimdall saw the gods were proudly admiring Bifröst, the rainbow bridge, which had just been built from fire, air and water. Bifröst was built from three substances that are clearly distinguishable in a rainbow within three primary colors: red, symbolizing fire, blue - air, green - the cold depths of the sea. Bifröst bridge connected heaven and earth and ended on one side under the canopy of the mighty World Tree of Yggdrasil, and on the other, at the source of wisdom the Well of Mimir. The only thing that prevented the gods from contemplating this beautiful sight was the fear of frost giants travelling along the bridge having access to Asgard. Consequently, the gods decided that it was necessary to put a reliable guard upon the bridge, and they all agreed that the new god could perform such an onerous task.

Heimdall gladly accepted what was entrusted to him by the gods and since then, day and night, he continued to vigilantly guard the rainbow path to Asgard.

The Bifröst in the east shines green;

On top of it, in the clouds, Heimdallr sits,

vigilantly guarding the Rainbow Bridge.

(A. G. Elenschleger)

To enable the guardian of Asgard to defend himself against any enemy, Heimdall was granted with extraordinary abilities including the ability to hear grass growing on the hill and wool growing on the back of a sheep, as well as the ability to see hundreds of kilometers equally well day and night. In addition, he needed less sleep than a bird.

Heimdall was also presented with a sparkling sword and a wonderful signal horn called Gjallarhorn which, upon the instructions of the gods, Heimdall should sound when seeing the approach of enemies. The Whitest Æsir can sound Gjallarhorn to raise all creatures in heaven, earth and Niflheim. The last sound of the horn will be heard at the end of the world at the time of the last battle of Ragnarok where it is foretold that Heimdall and Loki battle and kill each other.

The game was brought up by Mimir’s children; the end was announced by the horn of Gjallarhorn; Heimdall blows, he raised a horn, with the skull of Mimir Odin talking.

(Elder Edda. The prophecy of the Völva. Translation by V. Tikhomirov)

To ensure always having the great crescent-shaped Gjallarhorn to hand, Heimdall either hung it on one of the branches of Yggdrasil or placed it in the waters of the well of Mimir where it lay next to the eye of Odin (symbolising the full moon.)

Heimdall's palace was called Himinbjorg which was located near the Bifröst bridge above its highest point. The gods loved to visit Himinbjorg to enjoy drinking the magnificent beverage that Heimdall treated them to.

This dwelling is called Himinbjerg; Heimdall

rules and lives there.

The guardian of the gods, they say, is drinking

copper beer here under the canopy of the old chambers.

(R. B. Andersen. Mythology of the peoples of Northern Europe

Heimdall is always depicted in shining white armor, and is therefore often called the “white” or “brightest Æsir”. He also has the nicknames Bright, Clean and Graceful which are fully deserved since he was both kind and beautiful and all the gods loved him. Heimdall was closely connected to the sea due to his nine mothers and he is sometimes ranked among the Vanir. Consequently, since the ancient inhabitants of Northern Europe considered the sea to be the basis of all life, Heimdall was attributed with comprehensive knowledge and portrayed as most wise.

Heimdall, the

brightest of the Ases, said here,

and he was a seer

like the baths.

(Elder Edda. Song of the Hold. Translation by V. Tikhomirov)

Heimdall's hallmark was his golden teeth which sparkling when he smiled. For this he received the nickname Gullintanni ('golden-toothed'). He was also the proud owner of a swift horse named Gulltoppr ('golden fringe') which carried him over the trembling rainbow bridge many times a day. However, since he drove upon Bifrost particularly at dawn, Heimdall is associated with acting as herald and messenger of each new day.

Early in the morning, at dawn, the

son of Ulvrun,

Mighty ase, the owner of Himinbjorgr, rushes headlong across the Bifröst Bridge ,

announcing the beginning of the day.

(Elder Edda)

Heimdallr is additionally referred to as Rig, Hallinskiði, Gullintanni and Vindlér or Vindhlér and was attributed to ordering social hierarchies (Rigsthula.)

Source

Scef - Rig och den unge Jarl Det här är en fortsättning på de två andra inläggen om Scefs barndom och hans problem med Loke. Jag tolkar här det som berättas i Rigsthula om hur Heimdal/Rig/Scef blir anfader till de tre kasterna.

Det här är en fortsättning på de två andra inläggen om Scefs barndom och hans problem med Loke. Jag tolkar här det som berättas i Rigsthula om hur Heimdal/Rig/Scef blir anfader till de tre kasterna.

Scef satt vid de falnande lågorna av elden som han hade tänt dagen innan. Den hade hållit honom varm under natten, och nu på morgonen hade han lagt in ett par pinnar i glöden för att koka sin…

The whole poem comes across as being a fancy genealogy of the kings of Denmark, as has been argued. The prose introduction clearly came after the poem was written down. If the original poet intended the poem to be something that made the king sound like a descendant of a god, surely the poet would have picked Odin, not Heimdall, as the progenitor identified with Rígr? Odin was known (at the time the intro would have been written) as a major god in the pantheon, and Heimdall had an obscure and confusing position, from what we can tell. Why write down Heimdall?

I guess the answer is that for whatever reason, the guy who wrote the prose introduction knew (or guessed) that Rígr meant Heimdall. But how did he know? Can we trust him? And if he did know, if he wasn't just making it up, where did he know it from? Did he know something we don't know (he probably did)? I remain skeptical. Something just doesn't feel right.

Of course, in the Völuspá, Heimdall is described as being the father of mankind. This would seem to back up our intro-author.