Norse & Germanic
Mjölnir
Mjölnir
Smashes anything, and returns to its owner's hand when thrown.
WeaponFirst recorded 1220
Loading artifact…
Photograph: A Greek gold ring of the fourth to third century BCE. A face with flowing hair is embossed across the whole oval bezel.
Focus the photograph, then use the arrow keys to pan and the plus and minus keys to zoom. The buttons at the lower left also move it. Press a numbered button on the photograph to zoom to that note.
4,000 × 4,000 PX4000×4000
ArchiveNorse & Germanic · Jewel
Draupnir
Draupnir
Every ninth night it drops eight gold rings of equal weight.
- Owner
- Odin
- Maker
- The dwarf brothers Brokkr and Eitri
- First record
- Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda1220
- Gallery
- Norse & Germanic
Notes on the photograph 2
Story
Draupnir was born on the same day and in the same forge as Mjölnir. In their wager with Loki, Brokkr and Eitri made in turn the golden boar Gullinbursti, the gold ring Draupnir and the hammer Mjölnir, and presented them to the gods.
Every ninth night, eight gold rings of exactly the same weight dripped from it. This endlessly growing wealth was the most kingly treasure in a northern society where rulers handed out rings to their followers.
When Odin's son Baldr died, Odin laid the ring on the funeral pyre to burn with him. Hermóðr, who rode down to the underworld, could not bring Baldr back, but Baldr sent Draupnir back to his father.
The object in the photo
The photograph shows Gold ring(Greek, late 4th–3rd century BCE), a real museum object that evokes the legendary artifact.
More from Norse & Germanic
Norse & GermanicGiant's Sword
Ealdsweord eotenisc
So large an ordinary man could not lift it. Its blade melted in the monster's blood.
WeaponFirst recorded 1000
Norse & GermanicHrunting
Hrunting
A patterned steel blade steeped in venom. It had never failed in battle.
WeaponFirst recorded 1000
Norse & Germanic