Friday, January 16, 2009
HEIMDALL From the 'Gods of England' series by Thorskegga Thorn
Thorskegga has started a series of paintings depicting the gods worshipped by the Anglo-Saxon and Norse settlers in England. The mucky brown colour is gold on the original but our scanner can't cope with it. Black and white versions of these pictures have been used for the covers of Thunder and the Wain.
Heimdall gaurds the rainbow bridge that links Earth and Asgard in Norse Mythology. He is said to have the sight of an eagle hence the eagles on his shield. A poetic kenning describes a sword as 'Heimdall's head'. The bear and seal in the top corners refer to Heimdall's battle against Loki over Freya's necklace Brisingamen.
The three young men are Heimdall's children, the fathers of the three classes of men. The runes remind us that Heimdal is also the teacher of mankind and entrusted the knowledge of runes to the ancestor of the highest class.
Please remember that the artwork on this site is covered by copyright. However we are very friendly so please e-mail us if you would like to use some of our material elsewhere.
Thorskegga has started a series of paintings depicting the gods worshipped by the Anglo-Saxon and Norse settlers in England. The mucky brown colour is gold on the original but our scanner can't cope with it. Black and white versions of these pictures have been used for the covers of Thunder and the Wain.
Heimdall gaurds the rainbow bridge that links Earth and Asgard in Norse Mythology. He is said to have the sight of an eagle hence the eagles on his shield. A poetic kenning describes a sword as 'Heimdall's head'. The bear and seal in the top corners refer to Heimdall's battle against Loki over Freya's necklace Brisingamen.
The three young men are Heimdall's children, the fathers of the three classes of men. The runes remind us that Heimdal is also the teacher of mankind and entrusted the knowledge of runes to the ancestor of the highest class.
Please remember that the artwork on this site is covered by copyright. However we are very friendly so please e-mail us if you would like to use some of our material elsewhere.
who the real heimdall is
Heimdall (Old Norse Heimdallr, the prefix Heim- means home, the affix -dallr is of uncertain origin) is one of the Æsir (gods) in Norse mythology. Heimdall is the guardian of the gods and of the link between Midgard and Asgard, the Bifrost Bridge. Legends foretell that he will sound the Gjallarhorn, alerting the Æsir to the onset of Ragnarök where the world ends and is reborn.
Heimdall is described as being so alert that he requires no sleep at all. He can hear the grass grow and see to the end of the world; he can hear a leaf fall. Heimdall is described as a son of Odin, perhaps a foster son. Heimdall was destined to be the last of the gods to perish at Ragnarök when he and Loki would slay one another.Húsdrápa and Heimdallargaldr
The lost Heimdallargaldr may have contained the following adventure which was also referenced in Úlfr Uggason's skaldic poem Húsdrápa of which only fragments are preserved:
Once, Freyja woke up and found that someone had stolen Brisingamen. Heimdall helped her search for it and eventually found the thief, who turned out to be Loki and they fought in the form of seals at Vágasker 'Wave-skerry' and Singasteinn, wherever they may be. Heimdall won and returned Brisingamen to Freyja
Heimdall is described as being so alert that he requires no sleep at all. He can hear the grass grow and see to the end of the world; he can hear a leaf fall. Heimdall is described as a son of Odin, perhaps a foster son. Heimdall was destined to be the last of the gods to perish at Ragnarök when he and Loki would slay one another.Húsdrápa and Heimdallargaldr
The lost Heimdallargaldr may have contained the following adventure which was also referenced in Úlfr Uggason's skaldic poem Húsdrápa of which only fragments are preserved:
Once, Freyja woke up and found that someone had stolen Brisingamen. Heimdall helped her search for it and eventually found the thief, who turned out to be Loki and they fought in the form of seals at Vágasker 'Wave-skerry' and Singasteinn, wherever they may be. Heimdall won and returned Brisingamen to Freyja
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)