Naglfar- Norse ArtifactArtifact"Ship of the Dead"

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Titles & Epithets

Ship of the Dead

Domains

deathdestruction

Symbols

fingernailstoenails

Description

Assembled over ages from the fingernails and toenails of the dead, each uncut nail hastening its completion, Naglfar breaks free at Ragnarök to carry the hosts of destruction to the final battle on the plain of Vígríðr.

Mythology & Lore

The Ship of Nails

Every person who dies with untrimmed nails adds to Naglfar. Snorri describes it in Gylfaginning as the largest of ships, built over all the ages of the world from the fingernails and toenails of the dead. The living were warned to clip their dead's nails before burial. Each nail left uncut brought the end of the world closer.

Ragnarök

When the bonds of the world break and the sea floods the land, Naglfar tears free from its moorings. In Völuspá, the ship sails from the east with Loki at the helm, carrying the hosts of Hel to the plain of Vígríðr. Snorri gives the same account, though he also names the giant Hrymr as steering a ship from the east. Whether they command the same vessel or two, Naglfar arrives at the final battle carrying the dead against the gods.

Relationships

Associated with

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