Heimdallr's Charm

Abstract

<p>Having sketched a proposed interpretation of some of the god Heimdallr’s main<br>characteristics and associations, it is possible to consider what a charm devoted<br>to him may have been concerned with. After looking at what may be meant<br>by ‘charm metre’ (galdralag), I survey some poetic mentions of charms, and<br>bring in comparisons from other Germanic traditions (Old High German and<br>Old English), alongside some more recent Scandinavian charms. I then move<br>on to a neighbouring tradition, the more recent yet archaic Karelian charms,<br>particularly those relating to birth and creation. We cannot determine what<br>Heimdallargaldr may have encompassed, in terms either of its mythological<br>or incantatory content, but these parallel traditions suggest something of the<br>parameters within which it may have functioned.<br></p>