Heimdall- Norse GodDeity"Guardian of Bifröst"

Son of Nine Mothers

Heimdall's birth is among the strangest in Norse myth. According to fragments of the lost poem Heimdalargaldr, he was born to nine mothers simultaneously, all sisters, all giantesses. These nine are often identified with the daughters of Ægir and Rán, the waves of the sea. He was nourished by the strength of the earth, the cold sea, and the blood of a sacrificial boar.

The Watchman

Heimdall's post is Bifröst, the burning rainbow bridge between Asgard and Midgard. His hall there is Himinbjörg, "Heaven's Cliffs," where Grímnismál says he "drinks good mead in comfort." He requires less sleep than a bird. His sight reaches a hundred leagues by day or night. He can hear grass growing in the meadows and wool sprouting on sheep. His horse, Gulltoppr, has a mane of gold.

Þrymskviða calls him the "Whitest of the Gods." His teeth flash gold when he speaks.

The Hidden Sacrifice

The Völuspá contains a cryptic stanza: Heimdall's hljóð lies hidden beneath Yggdrasil. The word means "hearing" or possibly "horn." Whether Heimdall deposited Gjallarhorn itself at the roots of the world-tree, or sacrificed his hearing as Odin sacrificed his eye, the sources do not agree. The lost poem Heimdalargaldr apparently held the answer, but only fragments survive.

The horn itself is called the "Resounding Horn." When blown, its sound will carry through all Nine Worlds. Heimdall will blow it only once. The Völuspá marks the moment: "Loud blows Heimdall, the horn is aloft."

Father of Humanity

In the Rígsþula, Heimdall walks through Midgard under the name Rígr. He visits three couples in succession. With Ái and Edda ("Great-Grandfather" and "Great-Grandmother"), the poorest, he stays three nights, sleeping between husband and wife. Nine months later, a son is born: Þræll, dark-skinned and rough-handed, ancestor of thralls. With Afi and Amma ("Grandfather" and "Grandmother"), the same: nine months, a son called Karl, ruddy and skilled, ancestor of free farmers. With Faðir and Móðir ("Father" and "Mother"), the wealthiest: a son named Jarl, blond and bright-eyed, who learns runes and warfare.

The poem breaks off as Jarl's youngest son, Konr ungr (a pun on konungr, "king"), masters the secret runes.

Heimdall and Loki

In Lokasenna, when Loki crashes the gods' feast and insults each deity in turn, Heimdall warns him to stop. Loki sneers that Heimdall's lot is a "hateful life," standing always with a wet back in the rain.

An older conflict survives in fragments. Loki stole the necklace Brísingamen from Freyja. Heimdall pursued him to a skerry called Singasteinn. There the two fought in the forms of seals, struggling in the waves until Heimdall recovered the treasure. The details are sparse; Skáldskaparmál preserves only a brief reference. But the enmity between them runs deep enough to define how they die.

The Final Battle

When the fire giants march across Bifröst led by Surtr, their weight and Surtr's flames will shatter the bridge. Before it falls, Heimdall will raise Gjallarhorn and blow. Every creature in the Nine Worlds will hear it. The end will have begun.

On the plain of Vígríðr, Heimdall will find Loki, freed from the serpent's venom and leading the dead aboard Naglfar. They will fight. Each will kill the other.