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

: ; "hollering horn"Orchard (1997:57). or "the loud sounding horn"Simek (2007:110).) is a

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

associated with the god Heimdallr and the wise being

Mímir Mímir or Mim is a figure in Norse mythology, renowned for his knowledge and wisdom, who is beheaded during the Æsir–Vanir War. Afterward, the god Odin carries around Mímir's head and it recites secret knowledge and counsel to him. Mímir ...

. The sound of Heimdallr's horn will herald the beginning of Ragnarök, the sound of which will be heard in all corners of the world. Gjallarhorn is attested 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 med ...

'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, and the ''

Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' ( is, Snorra Edda) or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often assumed to have been t ...

'', written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson.

Attestations

Gjallarhorn is attested once by name in the ''

'' while it receives three mentions in the ''

'':

''Prose Edda''

In the ''Prose Edda'', Gjallarhorn is mentioned three times, all mentions occurring in ''

Gylfaginning ''Gylfaginning'' (Old Norse: 'The Beguiling of Gylfi' or 'The Deluding of Gylfi'; c. 20,000 words; 13th century Old Norse pronunciation ) is the first part of the 13th century ''Prose Edda'' after the Prologue. The ''Gylfaginning'' deals with t ...

''. In chapter 15, the enthroned figure Just-As-High tells the disguised Gangleri about the cosmological tree

Yggdrasil Yggdrasil (from Old Norse ), in Norse cosmology, is an immense and central sacred tree. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional ...

. Just-As-High says that one of the three roots of Yggdrasil reaches to the well

Mímisbrunnr In Norse mythology, Mímisbrunnr (Old Norse " Mímir's well"Simek (2007:216).) is a well associated with the being Mímir, located beneath the world tree Yggdrasil. Mímisbrunnr is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century fr ...

, which belongs to Mímir, and contains much wisdom and intelligence. Using Gjallarhorn, Heimdallr drinks from the well and thus is himself wise.Faulkes (1995:17). In chapter 25 of ''Gylfaginning'', High tells Gangleri about Heimdallr. High mentions that Heimdallr is the owner of the "

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

" (see footnote) Gjallarhorn and that "its blast can be heard in all worlds".Faulkes (1995:25). Lindow (2002:143) comments that the Old Norse term employed for the instrument refers to "a long brass instrument that would answer today to an unvalved trumpet". In chapter 51, High foretells the events of Ragnarök. After the enemies of the gods will gather at the plain

Vígríðr In Norse mythology, Vígríðr or Óskópnir is a large field foretold to host a battle between the forces of the gods and the forces of Surtr as part of the events of Ragnarök. The field is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th ...

, Heimdallr will stand and mightily blow into Gjallarhorn. The gods will awake and assemble together at the

thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuse ...

.Faulkes (1995:54).

Archaeological record

A figure holding a large horn to his lips and clasping a sword on his hip appears on a stone cross from the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. Some scholars have theorized that this figure is a depiction of Heimdallr with Gjallarhorn.Lindow (2002:168). A 9th or 10th century

Gosforth Cross The Gosforth Cross is a large stone monument in St Mary's churchyard at Gosforth in the English county of Cumbria, dating to the first half of the 10th century AD. Formerly part of the kingdom of Northumbria, the area was settled by Scandinavia ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

depicts a figure holding a horn and a sword standing defiantly before two open-mouthed beasts. This figure has been oft theorized as depicting Heimdallr with Gjallarhorn.Bailey (1996:86-90).

Theories and interpretations

Scholar

Rudolf Simek Rudolf Simek (born 21 February 1954) is an Austrian philologist and religious studies scholar who is Professor and Chair of Ancient German and Nordic Studies at the University of Bonn. Simek specializes in Germanic studies, and is the author o ...

comments that the use of a horn as both a musical instrument and a drinking vessel is not particularly odd, and that the concept is also employed with tales of the legendary

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intellig ...

hero Roland's horn, Olifant. Simek notes that the horn is among the most ancient of Germanic musical instruments, along with

lur A lur, also lure or lurr, is a long natural blowing horn without finger holes that is played with a brass-type embouchure. Lurs can be straight or curved in various shapes. The purpose of the curves was to make long instruments easier to car ...

s, and, citing archaeological finds (such as the 5th century

Golden Horns of Gallehus The Golden Horns of Gallehus were two horns made of sheet gold, discovered in Gallehus, north of Møgeltønder in Southern Jutland, Denmark.Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

), comments that there appears to have been sacral horns kept purely for religious purposes among the Germanic people; understood as earthly versions of Heimdallr's Gjallarhorn, reaching back to the early

Germanic Iron Age The archaeology of Northern Europe studies the prehistory of Scandinavia and the adjacent North European Plain, roughly corresponding to the territories of modern Sweden, Norway, Denmark, northern Germany, Poland and the Netherlands. The regi ...

.Simek (2007:110—111).

Notes

References

* Bellows, Henry Adams (1923). ''The Poetic Edda''.

American-Scandinavian Foundation The American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) is an American non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting international understanding through educational and cultural exchange between the United States and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Swede ...

. * Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). ''Edda''.

Everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

. * * Larrington, Carolyne (Trans.) (1999). ''The Poetic Edda''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. * Lindow, John (2002). ''Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs''.

. * Orchard, Andy (1997).
Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend
'. Cassell. * Thorpe, Benjamin (Trans.) (1866) ''The Elder Edda of Saemund Sigfusson''. Norrœna Society. * Schach, Paul (1985). "Some Thoughts on ''Völuspá''" as collected in Glendinning, R. J. Bessason, Heraldur (Editors).
Edda: a Collection of Essays
'' University of Manitoba Press. * Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall.
Dictionary of Northern Mythology
'. D.S. Brewer * Zoëga, Geir (1910). ''A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic''.