Bards - Norse Detail Needed

[John F. Hirling]

<snip>
 Among the Norse Gods was
|Heimdall who guarded the rainbow bridge.  Every story that includes
|him (just about) mentions his horn, but his sword was a special
|implement as well.  Does anyone remember (and especially have a
|source I can look up) that gives the name of Heimdall's sword?
|
|Seigneur Etienne de St. Amaranth
<snip>

Accoring to http://todd.reimer.com/norse/myth.html#Hassif
Heimdall- The watchman of the gods. Heimdall is the guardian of Bifrost and
he possesses the horn Giallar. His horse is Gulltop and his sword is Hofund.
He is a great watchman as his eyesight is so sharp that he can see for 100
miles in all directions as plainly by night as by day, his hearing is such
that he can hear the grass pushing up from under the earth and the wool
growing on a sheep's back and he requires less sleep than a bird. He is also
purported to have "second sight" that
allows him to see into the future. Heimdall is also a clever god. It was his
idea to send Thor to Jotunheim to retrieve Mjollnir from the giant Thrym.
(See The Theft of Thor's Hammer for the story). Heimdall was also known as
Rig during his journey to Midgard. (See Rig-Heimdall and the Classes of
Men.)

and from http://www.tarahill.com/runes/aett_2.html discussing interpretation
of runes, we find

algiz : protection
Phonetic equivalent: x, z
           DIVINATORY MEANINGS:
                protection, assistance, defence, warning, support, a mentor,
an ethical dilemma
           MAGICAL USES:
                for protection, hunting
           ASSOCIATED MYTHS & DEITIES:
                Heimdall, Gjallerhorn
           ANALYSIS:
Heimdall is an interesting and mysterious figure in Norse mythology, and I
associate him with the rune algiz because of his role as protector and
guardian. He is the watcher at the gate who guards the boundaries between
the worlds and who charges all those entering and leaving with caution. He
is best known for his famous horn, but his sword is also important in the
consideration of this rune. Snorri mentions that the poetic name for a sword
is 'Heimdall's head', and the poetic name for a head is 'Heimdall's sword'.
This is particularly significant if we consider that one form of his name
was 'Heimdali', meaning 'ram'. Through the image of the ram, Heimdall's
sword and his horn can be seen as two different sides of the same image.
Both the sword and the ram's horns (or the elk's antlers) are symbols of
power which may be used for either offence or defence, depending on the
situation.

There are quite a few other sites -- many gaming sites -- but I didn't find
anything in a cursory survey.

Hope this is helpful.

--ihon

John Hirling, 20th Century Cleric and all around nice guy --
skypilot at ev1.net
hl ihon vinson macfergus, 15th century lowland Scot and all around nice
guy -- jhirling at houston.rr.com



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