Norse & Germanic
Mjölnir
Mjölnir
Smashes anything, and returns to its owner's hand when thrown.
WeaponFirst recorded 1220
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Photograph: A late ninth-century Anglo-Saxon sword pommel shaped like a triangular roof, in copper alloy inlaid with silver wire and niello in interlace patterns.
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3,000 × 2,250 PX3000×2250
ArchiveNorse & Germanic · Weapon
Skofnung
Sköfnungr
It holds the spirits of twelve berserkers who guarded the king. Wounds from it do not heal.
- Owner
- King Hrólfr Kraki
- Maker
- Unknown
- First record
- Saga of Hrólf Kraki1350
- Gallery
- Norse & Germanic
Notes on the photograph 3
Story
Skofnung, sword of the legendary Danish king Hrólfr Kraki, appears in several Icelandic sagas. The spirits of the twelve berserkers who guarded the king were said to dwell in it.
The sword had rules. It could not be drawn in sight of a woman, and sunlight could not touch its hilt. A wound from it would not heal unless rubbed with the stone that came with the sword.
After Hrólfr died the sword was buried in his mound, until the Icelander Skeggi opened the grave and took it out, as the Laxdæla Saga relates.
The object in the photo
The photograph shows Sword Pommel(Anglo-Saxon, late 9th century), a real museum object that evokes the legendary artifact.
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