Gjallarhorn

musical instrument · Iceland · Nordic

Gjallarhorn is the great horn of Heimdallr, the watchman of the gods who guards the rainbow bridge Bifröst, and its sound carries across all the worlds. At Ragnarök Heimdallr raises the horn to his lips and its blast summons gods and men to the final battle on the field of Vígríðr, a call that is among the great set-pieces of Norse eschatology. Snorri also says that Heimdallr drinks from the horn at the well of Mímir, suggesting that it doubled as a drinking vessel in some accounts. The name 'resounding horn' or 'shrill horn' fits its role as the signal of the end times. Gjallarhorn has passed

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