Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

, Gambanteinn (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

''gambanteinn'' 'magic wand') appears in two poems in the

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic me ...

''Hárbarðsljóð''

In ''

Hárbarðsljóð ''Hárbarðsljóð'' (Old Norse: 'The Lay of Hárbarðr') is one of the poems of the ''Poetic Edda'', found in the Codex Regius and AM 748 I 4to manuscripts. It is a flyting poem with figures from Norse Paganism. ''Hárbarðsljóð'' was first writ ...

'' stanza 20, Hárbarðr says:

A giant hard was Hlébard, methinks:
His ''gambanteinn'' he gave me as gift,
And I stole his wits away.

''Skírnismál''

In ''

Skírnismál ''Skírnismál'' (Old Norse: 'The Lay of Skírnir') is one of the poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. It is preserved in the 13th-century manuscripts Codex Regius and AM 748 I 4to but may have been originally composed in the early 10th century. Many sc ...

'' (Stanzas 25 to 26)

Skírnir In Norse mythology, Skírnir (Old Norse" ; "bright one"Orchard (1997:149).) is the god Freyr's messenger and vassal. In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''Skírnismál'', Skírnir is sent as a messenger to Jötunheimr to conduct lovesick Freyr's wooing o ...

speaks to

Gerd Gerd or GERD may refer to: * Gerd (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname * Gerd (moon), a moon of Saturn * Gerd Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica * Gastroesophageal reflux disease, a chronic symptom of mucosal damage ...

Seest thou, maiden, this keen, bright sword
That I hold here in my hand?
Before its blade the old giant bends,—
Thy father is doomed to die.

I strike thee, maid, with my ''gambanteinn'',
To tame thee to work my will;
There shalt thou go where never again
The sons of men shall see thee.

Skírnir then condemns Gerd to live lonely and hideous, unloved, either married to a three-headed giant or forever unwed. It might seem that this ''gambanteinn'' also refers to the sword with which Skirnir has previously threatened Gerd. But immediately after concluding his curse, Skírnir says (stanza 32):

I go to the wood, and to the wet forest,
To win a ''gambanteinn'';
. . . . . . . . .
I won a ''gambanteinn''.

The poem then continues with further threats by Skírnir condemning Gerd to a life of misery. {{Norse mythology Artifacts in Norse mythology