Heimdall: Guardian of the Bifrost in Norse Mythology
Explore Heimdall, the watchman of the gods, the guardian of Bifrost, the wielder of Gjallarhorn, and his prophesied meeting with Loki at Ragnarok.
Heimdall is the watchman of the gods in Norse mythology, the silent guardian of the bridge Bifröst that connects Asgard to the other worlds. He is the sentinel who sits at the gate of Asgard with the horn Gjallarhorn, ready to sound the warning that will summon the gods to Ragnarok. He is described in the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson as needing less sleep than a bird, seeing a hundred leagues by night or by day, and hearing the grass growing on the earth and the wool on the backs of the sheep. He is the son of Odin and nine mothers — sometimes identified as the daughters of the sea-giant Ægir, sometimes as the waves of the sea themselves — and he is the progenitor of the three social classes of humanity: thrall, freeman, and noble. His mythology is preserved in the Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda, the skaldic verse of the Viking Age, and a constellation of place-names and folklore that attest to the geographical distribution of his cult.
Heimdall in the Prose Edda
In the Gylfaginning of Snorri Sturluson, Heimdall is described as one of the Aesir, the son of Odin by nine mothers. He is called the “warden of the gods” (göta vörðr) and the “whitest of the gods.” His dwelling is at the gate of Asgard, at the place where the bridge Bifröst meets the heavens. He is the keeper of the horn Gjallarhorn, which he will sound when the enemies of the gods are about to attack.
The passage on Heimdall in the Gylfaginning is one of the most detailed in the Edda, and it gives a vivid picture of the guardian of the gods:
“He stands always on the watch at the gate of Asgard, and he sleeps less than a bird; he sees a hundred leagues by night or by day, and he hears the grass growing on the earth and the wool on the backs of the sheep, and all things that make a sound. He has a horn called Gjallarhorn, and when he blows it, its blast is heard in all the worlds.”
The passage also notes that Heimdall is the “father of mankind” (vörðr goða can also be read as “father of the gods,” but the context favors the interpretation of him as the progenitor of the human race). Snorri describes him as the ancestor of the three classes of human society: he begot the thrall on the giantess Þrúðr, the freeman on Amlóða, and the noble on Móði. This genealogy follows the older tradition of Heimdall as a creator god, a divine being who set the human world in order at the beginning of time.
The Nine Mothers of Heimdall
Heimdall is the son of Odin and nine mothers, a mythological motif that is unique to him among the Norse gods. The identities of the nine mothers are debated. In the Hrafnagaldur Óðins (also called Fjölsvinnsmál, a poem of the Poetic Edda sometimes considered late or spurious), the nine mothers are named as Gjálp, Greip, Eistla, Eyrgjafa, Fult, Ulfrún, Angurgapa, Atla, and Imð. The list matches the identification of the mothers as the daughters of the sea-giant Ægir, who are also called the waves of the sea. The motif of nine mothers is one of the older Indo-European patterns of the divine child born of multiple mothers, and it is also found in the genealogies of the Irish hero Cú Chulainn.
The identification of the nine mothers with the waves of the sea matches the iconography of Heimdall: he is associated with the sea, the white brightness of the dawn, and the sound of the Gjallarhorn, all of which are associated with the ocean. The motif also explains why Heimdall can hear the grass growing and the wool on the backs of the sheep: he is the son of the all-pervasive sound of the sea, and he has inherited the sensory capacities of the waters.
Heimdall and Gjallarhorn
Gjallarhorn is the horn of Heimdall, and its name means “the loud-sounding horn” or “the horn that resounds in all the worlds.” It is the symbol of the warning that will summon the gods to Ragnarok, and it is also associated with the galdr, the magical incantation, since the sound of the horn is itself a kind of incantation.
In the Völuspá, the völva describes Heimdall raising the horn and blowing it loudly when the world-tree Yggdrasil trembles and the fire-giant Surtr leads the sons of Muspell to the plain of Vígríðr. The sound of Gjallarhorn is heard in all the worlds, and the gods assemble for the final battle.
The Gjallarhorn is sometimes identified with the Mímir’s horn of the Hymiskviða, a horn with which Heimdall and the other gods drink at the feast of Ægir. The two are likely the same, since both are associated with the beginning of the end of the world.
Heimdall and the Bifröst
Bifröst is the rainbow bridge that connects Asgard to the lower worlds. It is described in the Gylfaginning as a three-colored bridge — red, blue, and green — and its name is sometimes etymologized as “the trembling bridge” (from bifast, to tremble) or “the beaver path” (from bjóðr). The bridge is also called Bilröst in some sources.
Heimdall stands at the gate of Asgard, where the Bifröst meets the heavens, and he watches the worlds for any sign of attack. In the Grímnismál, the bridge is described as a place of fire, and it is said that the bridge will break at Ragnarok under the weight of the giants and the sons of Muspell. The image matches the theology of the Norse cosmos: the bridge is the link between the divine and the human worlds, and it is also the most vulnerable point of the cosmic order.
Heimdall and the Birth of Classes
In the Rígsþula of the Poetic Edda, the god Rígr (whose name is generally identified with Heimdall by modern commentators) walks among human families and begets the three classes of society. The poem describes Rígr coming to the home of Ái and Edda, the great-grandparents of humanity, and walking to the place where the daughter-in-law of the household is sleeping. Rígr walks between the two who lie in bed, and nine months later a son is born, who is named Þræll (thrall). The thrall marries a girl of similar birth, and from them come the line of the thrall.
Rígr then goes to the household of Afi and Amma, the grandparents of the next class, and begets a son named Karl (freeman), who is the ancestor of the farmers and tradesmen. Rígr then goes to the household of Faðir and Móðir, the parents of the noble class, and begets Jarl (earl), who is the ancestor of the kings and warriors.
The poem is the principal source for the mythological origin of the three classes in Norse society, and it is also a remarkable document of the social ideology of the Viking Age. The identification of Rígr with Heimdall is based on the Gylfaginning, in which Snorri describes Heimdall as the progenitor of the three classes.
Heimdall in the Völuspá
In the Völuspá, Heimdall appears in two principal scenes. The first is the description of the great horn of warning, in which the völva describes Heimdall raising the Gjallarhorn and blowing it loudly when the world-tree Yggdrasil trembles and the enemies of the gods approach. The second is the description of the meeting of Heimdall and Loki at the end of the world:
“Then the dragon flies, the serpent of the deep, up from the dark mountains, and the glittering snake leaves his lair; Naglfar breaks loose, the ship sails from the east, and Muspell’s folk come over the sea, and Loki is the steersman. From the south comes Surtr with the scourge of branches, the sun of the war-god gleams from his sword. The rocks are riven, the giants are free, the women of Hel are abroad. Now the Allfather comes, and the bright gods of Asgard, and the champions of Valhalla, and the warriors of the slain ride from the walls of Asgard. Bifröst breaks beneath them, as they ride over the bridge, and they fall into the sea, and the fire sweeps them. The waters rise, the fire rages, and the world is no more.”
“Then comes the hour when Heimdall and Loki meet, and the bright god and the dark god slay each other.”
The two scenes are the principal descriptions of Heimdall in the Poetic Edda, and they give a clear picture of the guardian of the gods: he is the one who sounds the warning, the one who fights at the front of the divine host, and the one who meets the trickster in mutual destruction.
Heimdall and Loki: Mutual Destruction
The mutual destruction of Heimdall and Loki at Ragnarok is one of the most theologically significant pairings in the Norse mythology of the end of the world. The two are opposites: Heimdall is the guardian of the divine order, the white god, the all-seeing and all-hearing sentinel; Loki is the agent of chaos, the dark god, the shape-shifter and trickster. The two are bound to meet in the final battle, and the two are bound to kill each other.
The pairing is one of the older Indo-European patterns of the dualistic opposition of the divine guardian and the divine destroyer, and it follows the broader pattern of Norse eschatology. The mutual destruction is not a final victory of either side but a balanced outcome, in which the divine order is destroyed along with the chaos that destroyed it.
Heimdall and the Theft of Brísingamen
In the Húsdrápa of Úlfr Uggason, a tenth-century skaldic poem preserved in the Prose Edda, Heimdall appears as the agent of the recovery of the necklace Brísingamen from Loki. The poem describes Loki stealing the necklace from Freya and fleeing, and Heimdall pursuing him. The two meet at the sea, transform themselves into seals, and fight, and Heimdall recovers the necklace.
The episode is the source of the famous image of Heimdall and Loki fighting for Brísingamen, and it is also the basis of a number of medieval artistic representations. The image is sometimes read as an allegory of the divine order recovering the precious thing that has been stolen by the trickster, and it is a central myth of the mythology of Freya.
Heimdall and the Hearing of the Earth
The motif of Heimdall’s supernatural hearing is one of the most striking in the Norse sources. In the Gylfaginning, Heimdall is said to hear “the grass growing on the earth and the wool on the backs of the sheep.” The motif is also found in the Hrafnagaldur Óðins and in the Skáldskaparmál.
The hearing belongs to the older motif of the all-knowing and all-seeing god, and it is the basis of the function of Heimdall as the guardian of the divine order. The image is sometimes compared to the Greek god Pan, who is said to be able to hear the smallest sound in the forest, but the comparison is not exact: Heimdall is not a wild god but a guardian of the divine citadel, and his hearing is a part of his role as a sentinel.
Heimdall in Place-Names and Folklore
The cult of Heimdall is not as widely attested in place-names as that of Thor or Freya, but it is recorded in a few specific instances. The place-name Heimdalshella in Norway, a rock formation, is associated with the god, and the name Heimdal in Norway is sometimes read as a place-name of the cult.
In the folklore of Iceland, the god appears in some late tales as the patron of the winds and the weather, and he is sometimes conflated with the figure of the wind in the Icelandic landscape. The image of the bright white god of the winds, who can hear the smallest sound and see the most distant object, descends from the older cult of the guardian of the divine order.
Heimdall in Modern Culture
Heimdall has become a frequent character in modern fantasy and fiction, and he is particularly prominent in the Marvel cinematic universe, in which he is the guardian of the Bifröst and the gatekeeper of Asgard. The Marvel Heimdall, played by Idris Elba in the Thor films, is one of the most popular modern interpretations of the god, and it has had a significant effect on the popular reception of the Norse pantheon.
In modern fantasy literature, Heimdall is a frequent character in the retelling of the Norse myths, and his role as the guardian of the divine order is a popular theme. The image of the silent, all-seeing sentinel at the gate of Asgard is a powerful one in modern fiction, and it is the basis of many modern interpretations of the god.
Conclusion
Heimdall is the guardian of the Norse cosmos, the silent sentinel at the gate of Asgard, the wielder of the Gjallarhorn, and the progenitor of the three classes of humanity. He is the son of Odin and nine mothers, the white god who can hear the grass growing and the wool on the backs of the sheep. He is the one who sounds the warning at Ragnarok, the one who fights at the front of the divine host, and the one who meets Loki in mutual destruction. To read the Gylfaginning is to read the theology of the divine order; to read the Rígsþula is to read the mythology of the human social order. Heimdall is the god who stands at the threshold, who watches the worlds, and who will be the last to defend the cosmic order at the end of time.
The Rígsþula in More Detail
The Rígsþula is one of the most theologically and socially significant of the Eddic poems, and it is the principal source for the mythological origin of the three classes in Norse society. The poem describes the god Rígr (Heimdall in disguise) walking among human families, begetting the three classes, and establishing the social order of the Norse world. The poem is also a remarkable document of the social ideology of the Viking Age, and it is one of the most studied of the Eddic texts.
The structure of the Rígsþula is tripartite. The first section describes Rígr coming to the home of Ái and Edda, the great-grandparents of humanity, and begetting the thrall-class. The second section describes Rígr coming to the home of Afi and Amma, the grandparents of the next class, and begetting the freeman-class. The third section describes Rígr coming to the home of Faðir and Móðir, the parents of the noble class, and begetting the earl-class. The poem ends with a description of the descendants of the three classes, and a vivid picture of the Norse social world.
The poem is also notable for its use of kennings, for its metrical complexity, and for its preservation of older Indo-European motifs of the divine origin of the social order. The motif of the divine child who walks among humans and establishes the social order is a common one in the Indo-European traditions, and the Rígsþula is a particularly vivid example of the type.
The Hrafnagaldur Óðins and the Nine Mothers
The Hrafnagaldur Óðins (also called Fjölsvinnsmál) is a poem of the Poetic Edda that is sometimes considered late or spurious, but that is a major source for the mythology of Heimdall and the nine mothers. The poem describes the awakening of a woman named Svipdagsmey (the maiden of Svipdag), and her journey to the hall of Móði (the son of Thor), who is described as the son of the woman who was the daughter of the giant Svipdag.
The poem includes a description of the nine mothers of Heimdall, named as Gjálp, Greip, Eistla, Eyrgjafa, Fult, Ulfrún, Angurgapa, Atla, and Imð. The list matches the identification of the mothers as the daughters of the sea-giant Ægir, who are also called the waves of the sea. The motif of nine mothers is one of the older Indo-European patterns of the divine child born of multiple mothers, and it is also found in the genealogies of the Irish hero Cú Chulainn.
The poem is also important for its preservation of the image of Heimdall as the father of the social classes, and the image of the god who walks among humans and establishes the social order is a major theme in the Norse mythology of the divine origin of the human world.