Norse & Germanic
Mjölnir
Mjölnir
Smashes anything, and returns to its owner's hand when thrown.
WeaponFirst recorded 1220
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Photograph: A German two-handed processional sword carried by the guard of Duke Julius of Brunswick, dated 1573, with a man-high blade and long grip.
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492 × 1,716 PX492×1716
ArchiveNorse & Germanic · Weapon
Giant's Sword
Ealdsweord eotenisc
So large an ordinary man could not lift it. Its blade melted in the monster's blood.
- Owner
- Guarded by Grendel's mother
- Maker
- Ancient giants
- First record
- Beowulf1000
- Gallery
- Norse & Germanic
Notes on the photograph 3
Story
With Hrunting useless and Beowulf cornered, his eye fell on an enormous sword hanging on the cave wall. The poem calls it an old sword made by giants, too large for any other man to carry into battle.
With it Beowulf cut down Grendel's mother and struck off the head of the dead Grendel. Then the blade melted like ice in the monster's hot blood, leaving only the hilt.
The golden hilt Beowulf carried back was said to be inscribed in runes with the ancient story of the giants destroyed by the great flood.
The object in the photo
The photograph shows Two-Handed Processional Sword carried by Guard of Duke Julius of Brunswick(German, Brunswick, dated 1573), a real museum object that evokes the legendary artifact.
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Hrunting
A patterned steel blade steeped in venom. It had never failed in battle.
WeaponFirst recorded 1000
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