Norse & Germanic
Mjölnir
Mjölnir
Smashes anything, and returns to its owner's hand when thrown.
WeaponFirst recorded 1220
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Photograph: A Turkish helmet, probably from Istanbul, about 1560. A pointed steel bowl with gold and silver inlay carries ear and neck guards.
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1,457 × 1,941 PX1457×1941
ArchiveNorse & Germanic · Armor
Helm of Awe
Ægishjálmr
All who look on its wearer are seized by terror.
- Owner
- The dragon Fafnir, later Sigurd
- Maker
- Unknown
- First record
- Poetic Edda, Lay of Fafnir1270
- Gallery
- Norse & Germanic
Notes on the photograph 3
Story
Having killed Hreidmar and seized the gold, Fafnir changed into a dragon and lay upon it. In the Lay of Fafnir he boasts that because he wore the Helm of Awe, no one dared come near.
Sigurd dug a pit, hid in it, and stabbed the dragon's belly from below as it went to drink. The dying Fafnir admits that the helm did not protect him after all.
Sigurd took the helm along with the gold. Among Icelandic magical symbols today there is a star-shaped design called the Helm of Awe, named after this story.
The object in the photo
The photograph shows Helmet(Turkish, probably Istanbul, ca. 1560), a real museum object that evokes the legendary artifact.
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