Helm_of_Awe

Helm of Awe

Helm of Awe

Object in Norse mythology and modern magical stave

The Helm of Awe or Helm of Terror (Icelandic: Ægishjálmur, Old Norse Œgishjalmr) is an object in Norse mythology relating to the hoard protected by the worm Fáfnir and subsequently the name of a modern Icelandic magical stave.

The modern Icelandic occult symbol that shares the name of the object in Norse mythology

Medieval attestations of the object

Völsunga saga

A physical object called the "Helm of Terror" is referenced as one item Sigurð takes from Fafnir's hoard after he slays him in Völsunga saga.[1]

Reginsmál

In the prose of Reginsmál, Fáfnir is described as owning the helm and that all living creatures feared it.[2]

Fáfnismál

The object is also discussed in Fáfnismál in the Poetic Edda, here translated as "Fear-helm":

More information Old Norse text, Bellows translation ...

In the next stanzas of the poem, Sigurð refers to the helm again:

More information Old Norse text, Bellows translation ...

Origin of the Stave

The first recorded appearance of the symbol came from the Galdrakver written in 1670 and recovered from the collection of Bishop Hannes Finnsson by Jón Árnason and rebound in 1865.[7]

While it is debated whether the Helm of Awe may have been an actual helm, in Medieval sources, it never references a symbol such as that recorded in the modern period. The meaning of the word used to define the helm seemed to change as years went on, going from a physical object to a voracious trait of striking fear into one with a glance.[8][unreliable source?]

See also

  • Sigil - a type of magical symbol
  • Vegvísir - another Icelandic magical stave first recorded in the modern period

References

  1. [1]
    Byock, Jesse. The Saga of the Volsungs. London: Penguin, 1999, pp. 66.
  2. [2]
    Bellows 2004, Reginsmol: prose prelude to stanza 15.
  3. [3]
    Fáfnismál (ON), Stanza 16 & 17.
  4. [4]
    Bellows 2004, Fafnismol: stanzas 16 & 17.
  5. [5]
    Fáfnismál (ON), Stanza 19.
  6. [6]
    Bellows 2004, Fafnismol: stanzas 19.
  7. [7]
    "Galdrakver". handrit.is (in Icelandic and Latin). p. 26. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  8. [8]
    Storesund.

Bibliography

Primary

Secondary


Stub icon

This article relating to a Norse myth or legend is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Stub icon

This Iceland-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Helm_of_Awe, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.