Heimdall

Origin

The iconographic origin is the watchman-god worship of the 9th-11th-century Norse Viking mythology, and the etymology Old Norse Heimdallr is the compound of heim ('world, home') and dallr ('shining one' or 'pillar') — the decisive canonical vocabulary. The decisive textual canon is the Prose Edda (Prose Edda) of c. 1220 of the early 13th-century Icelandic — Reykholt — Snorri Sturluson (Snorri Sturluson, 1179-1241) — chapter 27 of Gylfaginning (Gylfaginning) — the decisive canon in which Heimdall, as 'the white god (hviti ass)', is born from nine mothers, has golden teeth (Gullintanni), and possesses superhuman senses capable of hearing grass growing and wool growing. The Voluspa (Voluspa) stanza 27 of the Poetic Edda (Poetic Edda) of the c. 1270 Codex Regius (Codex Regius) manuscript is the decisive canon that Heimdall's hearing is hidden beneath Mimir's well of Odin, and Grimnismal (Grimnismal) stanza 13 is the decisive canon of Heimdall's dwelling Himinbjorg (Himinbjorg, 'mountain of heaven'), and Rigsthula (Rigsthula, Lay of Rig) is the decisive mythological canon in which Heimdall, under the name of Rig (Rigr), visits the human world and becomes the ancestor of the three classes (slave Thrall, freeman Karl, noble Jarl).

Features

• God of light with golden teeth (Gullintanni)
• Mysterious birth from nine mothers
• Eternal watchman of the rainbow bridge Bifrost
• Does not sleep and wakes faster than a bird
• Gjallarhorn — horn heard in all worlds
• Golden-maned warhorse Gulltoppr

Stories

The watchman-god worship of the 9th-11th-century Norse Viking mythology is the decisive origin, and the decisive textual canon is chapters 27 and 51 of Snorri Sturluson Prose Edda Gylfaginning of c. 1220 and the Voluspa, Grimnismal stanza 13, Thrymskvida stanza 15, and Rigsthula (Rigsthula) of the Poetic Edda of the c. 1270 Codex Regius manuscript. The 19th-century Germanic-nationalism revival — the 1835 Deutsche Mythologie of Jacob Grimm and the 1856 German prose Edda translation of Karl Simrock — is the decisive 19th-century scholarly canon, and the 13-17 August 1876 Bayreuth Festspielhaus premiere of Richard Wagner's opera tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen is the decisive 19th-century musical canon. The decisive modern canon is the Heimdall (Heimdall) of the 1980 D&D Deities & Demigods (Deities & Demigods) by TSR in the USA, and the Heimdall played by the British actor Idris Elba (Idris Elba) in the Marvel Studios film Thor (Thor) (directed by Kenneth Branagh) released in the USA on 6 May 2011 is the 21st-century decisive global film canon. The sequels Thor: The Dark World (Thor: The Dark World) on 8 November 2013, Thor: Ragnarok (Thor: Ragnarok) on 3 November 2017, and Avengers: Infinity War (Avengers: Infinity War) on 27 April 2018 — Heimdall dies in the opening of Infinity War — are the decisive Marvel canon. The main antagonist Heimdall played by Scott Porter (Scott Porter) of God of War Ragnarok (God of War Ragnarok) (directed by Eric Williams) released by Sony Interactive Entertainment in the USA on 9 November 2022 is the 21st-century decisive video-game canon.

Weakness

Heimdall's weaknesses are: (1) constant state of vigilance — the decisive canonical weakness in chapter 27 of the 1220 Snorri Gylfaginning canon, in which he does not sleep and wakes faster than a bird — forced eternal vigilance through superhuman senses — the decisive canon; (2) mutual destruction with Loki — the most decisive canonical weakness in chapter 51 of the 1220 Snorri Gylfaginning and the Voluspa canon of the 1270 Poetic Edda, in which at Ragnarok he mutually destroys with the trickster god Loki (Loki) — the decisive mythological canon; (3) destruction of Bifrost — the decisive canon that at Ragnarok the rainbow bridge Bifrost (Bifrost) is destroyed by the fire giant Surtr (Surtr) of Muspelheim; (4) Mimir's well — the decisive canonical weakness in the 1270 Voluspa stanza 27 canon that Heimdall's hearing is hidden beneath Mimir's well; (5) birth from nine mothers — the canon of mysterious birth; (6) dependence on Gjallarhorn — Ragnarok warning depends on Gjallarhorn — the decisive canonical dependence; (7) Odin's authority — Heimdall is under Odin's authority among the Aesir — the decisive canon; (8) binding of honour — sacred honour — the decisive canon. The decisive canonical finale is the decisive mythological canon of chapter 51 of the 1220 Snorri Gylfaginning and the Voluspa of 1270 — at Ragnarok Heimdall and Loki kill each other — mutual destruction.

Cultural Significance

Heimdall is not merely a watchman icon but the canonical iconographic figure of the decisive Norse canon, traversing the early 13th-century c. 1220 Snorri Sturluson Prose Edda, the c. 1270 Codex Regius manuscript Poetic Edda, the Rigsthula, the 1835 Jacob Grimm Deutsche Mythologie, the 1876 Wagner Der Ring des Nibelungen, the 1980 D&D Deities & Demigods, the 2011 Marvel film Thor, and the 2022 God of War Ragnarok. The watchman-god worship of the 9th-11th-century Norse Viking mythology settled as the decisive canon in chapter 27 of Gylfaginning (Gylfaginning) of the Prose Edda (Prose Edda) of c. 1220 of the early 13th-century Icelandic — Reykholt — Snorri Sturluson (Snorri Sturluson, born c. 1179 in Hvammur, Iceland, assassinated 23 September 1241 at Reykholt, Iceland by order of King Haakon IV of Norway) — in which Heimdall, as 'the white god (hviti ass)', is born from nine mothers, has golden teeth (Gullintanni), and possesses superhuman senses capable of hearing grass growing and wool growing — the decisive canon of superhuman senses. Rigsthula (Rigsthula, Lay of Rig) of the Poetic Edda of the c. 1270 Codex Regius manuscript — the decisive mythological canon in which Heimdall, under the name of Rig (Rigr), visits the human world and becomes the ancestor of the three classes (slave Thrall, freeman Karl, noble Jarl) — is the decisive canon of the mythological justification of Norse social classes. The decisive 21st-century canon is the Heimdall played by the British actor Idris Elba (Idris Elba, b. 1972) in the Marvel Studios film Thor (Thor) (directed by Kenneth Branagh, worldwide box office about 449 million dollars) released in the USA on 6 May 2011 — the 21st-century decisive global film canon — and Thor: The Dark World on 8 November 2013, Thor: Ragnarok on 3 November 2017, and Avengers: Infinity War on 27 April 2018 — Heimdall dies in the opening to Thanos (Thanos) — the decisive Marvel canon. The main antagonist Heimdall played by Scott Porter (Scott Porter, b. 1979) of God of War Ragnarok (God of War Ragnarok) (directed by Eric Williams, Metacritic 94, worldwide sales about 15 million) released by Sony Interactive Entertainment in the USA on 9 November 2022 is the 21st-century decisive video-game canon.

In Popular Culture

Snorri Sturluson Prose Edda Gylfaginning chapters 27 and 51 (c. 1220) — decisive origin canonCodex Regius manuscript Poetic Edda Voluspa, Grimnismal stanza 13, Thrymskvida stanza 15, Rigsthula (c. 1270) — decisive poetic canonJacob Grimm Deutsche Mythologie (1835) — decisive 19th-century scholarly canonRichard Wagner Der Ring des Nibelungen (1876) — decisive 19th-century musical canonTSR D&D Deities & Demigods, Heimdall (1980) — decisive fantasy RPG canonMarvel film Thor, Idris Elba (2011) — 21st-century decisive global film canonMarvel film Thor: Ragnarok (2017) — 21st-century decisive film canonMarvel film Avengers: Infinity War, Heimdall's death (2018) — 21st-century decisive film canonSony God of War Ragnarok, Heimdall (2022) — 21st-century decisive video-game canon