Helm of Awe
The Helm of Awe or Helm of Terror (Icelandic: Ægishjálmur, Old Norse Œgishjalmr) is an object in Norse mythology relating to the hoard protected by the worm Fáfnir and subsequently the name of a modern Icelandic magical stave.
Medieval attestations of the object
Völsunga saga
A physical object called the "Helm of Terror" is referenced as one item Sigurð takes from Fafnir's hoard after he slays him in Völsunga saga.[1]
Reginsmál
In the prose of Reginsmál, Fáfnir is described as owning the helm and that all living creatures feared it.[2]
Fáfnismál
The object is also discussed in Fáfnismál in the Poetic Edda, here translated as "Fear-helm":
Old Norse text[3] | Bellows translation[4] |
---|---|
Fáfnir kvað:
Sigurðr kvað:
|
Fafnir spake:
Sigurth spake:
|
In the next stanzas of the poem, Sigurð refers to the helm again:
Old Norse text[5] | Bellows translation[6] |
---|---|
|
|
Origin of the Stave
The first recorded appearance of the symbol came from the Galdrakver written in 1670 and recovered from the collection of Bishop Hannes Finnsson by Jón Árnason and rebound in 1865.[7]
Link between the item and symbol
While it is debated whether the Helm of Awe may have been an actual helm, in Medieval sources, it never references a symbol such as that recorded in the modern period. The meaning of the word used to define the helm seemed to change as years went on, going from a physical object to a voracious trait of striking fear into one with a glance.[8][unreliable source?]
See also
- Bind rune
- Sigil - a type of magical symbol
- Vegvísir - another Icelandic magical stave first recorded in the modern period
References
- ^ Byock, Jesse. The Saga of the Volsungs. London: Penguin, 1999, pp. 66.
- ^ Bellows 2004, Reginsmol: prose prelude to stanza 15.
- ^ Fáfnismál (ON), Stanza 16 & 17.
- ^ Bellows 2004, Fafnismol: stanzas 16 & 17.
- ^ Fáfnismál (ON), Stanza 19.
- ^ Bellows 2004, Fafnismol: stanzas 19.
- ^ "Galdrakver". handrit.is (in Icelandic and Latin). p. 26. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ Storesund.
Bibliography
Primary
- Bellows, Henry Adam (2004). The Poetic Edda: The Mythological Poems. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. ISBN 9780486437101.
- "Fáfnismál". heimskringla.no. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
Secondary
- Storesund, Eirik. "Clubbing Solomon's Seal: The Occult Roots of the Ægishjálmur". Brute Norse. Retrieved 15 December 2022.