Mímir stands guardian over Mímisbrunnr, the well of wisdom pooling beneath Yggdrasil's root, and drinks from its waters each morning through the horn Gjallarhorn.
⚠ Gylfaginning 15 assigns Gjallarhorn to Mímir for drinking from the well, but Völuspá 46 associates Gjallarhorn with Heimdallr. Scholars debate whether these are the same artifact.
The Vanir beheaded Mímir after discovering that Hoenir, the Æsir hostage, was unable to make decisions without Mímir's counsel, feeling cheated in the exchange as told in Ynglinga saga.
The Æsir are the principal tribe of Norse gods who dwell in Asgard, including both native members and Vanir hostages received after the Æsir-Vanir War, as catalogued in Gylfaginning.
Norse Mímir and Germanic Mimir represent the same primordial wisdom figure, whose name derives from Proto-Germanic *Mīmiz and who is attested primarily through Norse Eddic and skaldic sources.
Hoenir and Mímir were sent together as hostages to the Vanir after the Æsir-Vanir War. When the Vanir found Hoenir indecisive without Mímir's counsel, they beheaded Mímir in anger.
Odin sacrificed his eye at Mímir's well to drink its waters and gain cosmic wisdom. Later, after the Vanir beheaded Mímir, Odin preserved the head with herbs and charms, and Mímir's severed head continued to whisper counsel and hidden things to him.
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