Symbol reference · Galdrastafir
Heimdall
/ˈheɪmdɑːl/Old Norse Heimdallr, masculine noun
The short answer
The watchman of the gods, who lives at Himinbjörg by the bridge Bifröst and guards it against the giants. He needs less sleep than a bird, sees a hundred leagues by night as well as by day, hears grass grow, and will blow the horn Gjallarhorn when Ragnarök begins.
Snorri calls Heimdall 'the white god', great and holy. He was born of nine mothers, all of them sisters, and he has golden teeth, which is why he is also called Gullintanni, 'golden-tooth'; his horse is Gulltoppr, 'gold-top'. He lives at Himinbjörg, 'heaven's cliffs', beside Bifröst, where he sits at the edge of heaven as the gods' watchman to guard the bridge against the mountain giants.
His senses are what the sources stress. He needs less sleep than a bird, sees a hundred leagues around him by night as well as by day, and hears the grass growing on the earth and the wool growing on sheep. He owns the horn called Gjallarhorn, whose blast is heard in all the worlds. At Ragnarök he blows it to wake the gods, and he and Loki kill each other.
The Eddic poem Rígsþula, whose prose introduction identifies its wandering god Rígr with Heimdall, has him father the three orders of human society: thralls, free farmers and nobles. It fits the opening of Völuspá, which asks for a hearing from 'the greater and lesser sons of Heimdallr', meaning all of humankind. A lost poem, Heimdallargaldr, survives only in Snorri's quotations; in the two lines he gives, Heimdall says of himself: 'I am the son of nine mothers, of nine sisters am I the son.'
Much of his story is lost. Snorri says Heimdall's sword is called 'a man's head', and that he was once struck through by a man's head, a tale told in the lost Heimdallargaldr. A surviving verse of Úlfr Uggason's Húsdrápa (c. 985) has him contend with Loki at Singasteinn and win back a sea-jewel. Snorri, who knew the whole poem, says the prize was Freyja's necklace Brísingamen and that the two fought in the shape of seals.
His senses are what the sources stress. He needs less sleep than a bird, sees a hundred leagues around him by night as well as by day, and hears the grass growing on the earth and the wool growing on sheep. He owns the horn called Gjallarhorn, whose blast is heard in all the worlds. At Ragnarök he blows it to wake the gods, and he and Loki kill each other.
The Eddic poem Rígsþula, whose prose introduction identifies its wandering god Rígr with Heimdall, has him father the three orders of human society: thralls, free farmers and nobles. It fits the opening of Völuspá, which asks for a hearing from 'the greater and lesser sons of Heimdallr', meaning all of humankind. A lost poem, Heimdallargaldr, survives only in Snorri's quotations; in the two lines he gives, Heimdall says of himself: 'I am the son of nine mothers, of nine sisters am I the son.'
Much of his story is lost. Snorri says Heimdall's sword is called 'a man's head', and that he was once struck through by a man's head, a tale told in the lost Heimdallargaldr. A surviving verse of Úlfr Uggason's Húsdrápa (c. 985) has him contend with Loki at Singasteinn and win back a sea-jewel. Snorri, who knew the whole poem, says the prize was Freyja's necklace Brísingamen and that the two fought in the shape of seals.
Primary source Verbatim
Hann er vörðr goða ok sitr þar við himins enda at gæta brúarinnar fyrir bergrisum. Hann þarf minna svefn en fugl. Hann sér jafnt nótt sem dag hundrað rasta frá sér. Hann heyrir ok þat, er gras vex á jörðu eða ull á sauðum, ok allt þat er hæra lætr.
He is the watchman of the gods and sits there at the edge of heaven to guard the bridge against the mountain giants. He needs less sleep than a bird. He sees a hundred leagues from himself, by night as well as by day. He also hears the grass growing on the earth and the wool on sheep, and everything that makes a louder sound.
GYLFAGINNING, ch. 27 · translation editorial ↗
Etymology
Heimdallr
Old Norse
heimr, 'world, home', and a second element of uncertain meaning, usually compared with Old English deall, 'proud, shining', and with -döll in Freyja's name Mardöll
Gjallarhorn
Old Norse
gjallar is the genitive of gjöll, 'loud noise, clamour' (related to gjalla, 'to resound'), which is also the name of the river Gjöll by Hel; so 'horn of clamour' or 'horn of the river Gjöll'
The first half of Heimdallr is generally taken as heimr, 'world'. The second half has never been explained to everyone's satisfaction.
Common misconceptions
Common claim
What the record says
“Heimdall guards a golden gate at the end of the rainbow bridge.”
The rainbow bridge is Snorri's own: he says Bifröst is what people call the rainbow, and places Heimdall at Himinbjörg at its end, guarding it against the mountain giants. No source describes a gate, and none describes his armour. The golden observatory and gold armour are the Marvel films'. The film's sword name, Hofund, does echo Snorri, who says Heimdall's sword is called 'a man's head' (höfuð manns).
“Gjallarhorn is a drinking horn.”
Snorri calls it a lúðr, a horn for blowing, whose blast is heard in all worlds. The drinking idea also comes from Snorri, who says in Gylfaginning 15 that Mímir drinks from his well with Gjallarhorn. Völuspá does not say this. It has Mímir drink mead 'from Valföðr's pledge', Odin's pawned eye (st. 28), and says only that Heimdall's hljóð, his hearing or perhaps his horn, lies hidden under the sacred tree (st. 27).
“Heimdall and Loki are enemies in every myth.”
They meet as enemies at Ragnarök, where they kill each other, and in Húsdrápa's fight over a jewel, which Snorri says was Brísingamen. Snorri's kennings call Heimdall 'Loki's enemy', and in Lokasenna 47–48 the two trade insults. But in Þrymskviða they work together: Heimdall proposes dressing Thor as a bride and Loki goes along as the maid. No surviving myth explains how the feud began.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Heimdall in Norse mythology?
The watchman of the gods. He lives at Himinbjorg beside the bridge Bifrost and guards it against the giants, and at Ragnarok he blows Gjallarhorn to wake the gods.
What are Heimdall's powers?
His senses. Snorri says he needs less sleep than a bird, sees a hundred leagues by night as well as by day, and can hear grass growing on the earth and wool growing on sheep.
What is Gjallarhorn?
Heimdall's horn, whose blast is heard in all the worlds. He blows it at the start of Ragnarok. Snorri also says Mimir drinks from his well with Gjallarhorn, which has led some readers to think it was a drinking horn as well.
Who kills Heimdall at Ragnarok?
Loki. Snorri says the two kill each other in the last battle.
Why does Heimdall have nine mothers?
The sources say he was born of nine mothers, all sisters, but do not explain it. Snorri quotes a lost poem in which Heimdall says it of himself. More about the god is in our Heimdall article.
Is Heimdall the father of humankind?
In Rigsthula, a god called Rig fathers the three orders of society, and the prose introduction says Rig was Heimdall. Voluspa calls humans the sons of Heimdall, which fits the same idea.
Bibliography
- 1. Snorri Sturluson, Edda (Gylfaginning 15, 27 and 51; Skáldskaparmál 8 and 16 in Faulkes' numbering), c. 1220. Trans. Anthony Faulkes, Everyman, 1987. heimskringla.no ↗
- 2. The Poetic Edda (Völuspá 1, 27, 46; Grímnismál 13; Þrymskviða 15; Lokasenna 47–48), Codex Regius, GKS 2365 4to, c. 1270; Rígsþula in Codex Wormianus, AM 242 fol. Trans. Carolyne Larrington, rev. ed., Oxford World's Classics, 2014. handrit.is ↗
- 3. Rudolf Simek, Dictionary of Northern Mythology, trans. Angela Hall, D. S. Brewer, 1993, s.v. 'Heimdall'.
Cite this entry
VikingsBrand. “Heimdall.” VikingsBrand Library, reviewed 30 September 2026, vikingsbrand.co/pages/library/heimdall.