Library reference · Objects & the cosmos
Gungnir
/ˈɡuŋɡnir/Old Norse Gungnir, masculine noun: most likely 'the swaying one'
The short answer
Odin's spear, forged by the dwarf sons of Ívaldi. Snorri says it never stops in its thrust; the Poetic Edda has Odin fling a weapon into the host to open the first war in the world, usually taken to be this spear, and names runes cut on its point.
Gungnir belongs to the set of treasures the dwarfs make for the gods. In Skáldskaparmál the sons of Ívaldi forge the spear alongside Sif's golden hair and the ship Skíðblaðnir, after Loki's mischief forces him to buy off Thor's anger with craftsmanship he cannot supply himself.
The spear's defining moment is not a battle but a gesture. In Völuspá the first war in the world, between Æsir and Vanir, begins when Odin flings and shoots into the host. The poem names neither the weapon nor the purpose; the weapon is usually taken to be Gungnir, and the cast to be one that gives the enemy to Odin. That reading leans on later prose: in Styrbjarnar þáttr King Eiríkr shoots a reed over Styrbjörn's army with the words 'Odin has you all', and in Eyrbyggja saga Steinþórr throws a spear over his enemies' band 'by ancient custom', for luck.
Sigrdrífumál places the spear in the runic world too: among the many things on which runes were cut, the poem lists Gungnir's point.
One famous scene is quieter than its reputation. In Hávamál Odin hangs nine nights on the windy tree, given to himself, 'wounded with a spear', but the poem never names the weapon. Calling it Gungnir is an inference readers have made for a long time, and a reasonable one; it is still not what the text says.
What survives, then, is a short and precise dossier: a forging, a cast, a rune, a wound, and in Snorri's Gylfaginning the spear Odin carries when he rides against the wolf Fenrir at Ragnarök. The elaborate spear of modern retellings is not in the sources.
The spear's defining moment is not a battle but a gesture. In Völuspá the first war in the world, between Æsir and Vanir, begins when Odin flings and shoots into the host. The poem names neither the weapon nor the purpose; the weapon is usually taken to be Gungnir, and the cast to be one that gives the enemy to Odin. That reading leans on later prose: in Styrbjarnar þáttr King Eiríkr shoots a reed over Styrbjörn's army with the words 'Odin has you all', and in Eyrbyggja saga Steinþórr throws a spear over his enemies' band 'by ancient custom', for luck.
Sigrdrífumál places the spear in the runic world too: among the many things on which runes were cut, the poem lists Gungnir's point.
One famous scene is quieter than its reputation. In Hávamál Odin hangs nine nights on the windy tree, given to himself, 'wounded with a spear', but the poem never names the weapon. Calling it Gungnir is an inference readers have made for a long time, and a reasonable one; it is still not what the text says.
What survives, then, is a short and precise dossier: a forging, a cast, a rune, a wound, and in Snorri's Gylfaginning the spear Odin carries when he rides against the wolf Fenrir at Ragnarök. The elaborate spear of modern retellings is not in the sources.
Primary source Verbatim
Fleygði Óðinn ok í folk of skaut, þat var enn folkvíg fyrst í heimi
Odin flung, and shot into the host; that was still the first war in the world.
VÖLUSPÁ, st. 24 · translation editorial ↗
Etymology
gung-
Old Norse
to sway, to tremble: the root behind the accepted reading of the name
-nir
Old Norse
agent suffix: the one that does the thing, hence 'the swaying one'
'The swaying one': a name for how the shaft quivers in flight, not for what it kills.
Common misconceptions
Common claim
What the record says
“Gungnir flies back to Odin's hand like Thor's hammer.”
The returning weapon is Mjölnir. What Snorri claims for Gungnir is different: that it never stops in its thrust. No source has the spear fly home to its owner.
“Odin hung on the tree pierced by Gungnir.”
Hávamál says only that he was 'wounded with a spear' (geiri undaðr), and never names the weapon. Reading that spear as Gungnir is a reasonable modern inference, not something the poem states.
“The myths describe Gungnir in detail.”
They are remarkably thin: the dwarfs forge it, Odin flings a weapon, usually taken to be Gungnir, into a host to start the first war, runes are said to be cut on its point, and Snorri has Odin carry it against the wolf at Ragnarök. Almost every elaborate description in circulation today comes from modern fantasy, not from the sources.
Frequently asked questions
What is Gungnir?
Odin's spear, forged by the dwarf sons of Ivaldi in the same run of work that produced Sif's golden hair and the ship Skidbladnir. Snorri's claim for it is that it never stops in its thrust. The longer telling is in our Gungnir guide.
Does Gungnir return to Odin's hand like Mjolnir?
No. Returning to the hand is Mjolnir's property, not Gungnir's, and no source describes the spear flying home. See Mjolnir for the weapon that does.
Was Odin pierced by Gungnir when he hung on the tree?
Havamal says only that he was wounded with a spear, geiri undadr, and never names the weapon. Identifying it as Gungnir is a long-standing and reasonable inference, but it is not in the text.
Are there runes on Gungnir?
Sigrdrifumal lists Gungnir's point among the places where runes were cut, alongside such things as Sleipnir's teeth. The runic alphabet itself is covered in our Elder Futhark guide.
Why did Vikings throw a spear over an enemy army?
Later prose describes the custom. In Styrbjarnar thattr King Eirikr shoots a reed over Styrbjorn's army with the words Odin has you all, giving the enemy to Odin, and in Eyrbyggja saga a warrior throws a spear over the enemy band by ancient custom, for luck. In Voluspa the first war begins when Odin flings a weapon into the host, usually taken to be the same act.
Bibliography
- 1. Snorri Sturluson, Edda (Skáldskaparmál, the making of the gods' treasures; Gylfaginning), c. 1220. Trans. Anthony Faulkes, Everyman, 1987. heimskringla.no ↗
- 2. The Poetic Edda: Völuspá st. 24, Hávamál st. 138, Sigrdrífumál st. 17, Codex Regius (GKS 2365 4to), c. 1270. Trans. Carolyne Larrington, Oxford World's Classics, rev. ed. 2014. handrit.is ↗
- 3. Rudolf Simek, Dictionary of Northern Mythology, trans. Angela Hall, D. S. Brewer, 1993, s.v. Gungnir.
Cite this entry
VikingsBrand. “Gungnir.” VikingsBrand Library, reviewed 3 October 2026, vikingsbrand.co/de/pages/library/gungnir.