Folklore and Old Norse Mythology

Having sketched a proposed interpretation of some of the god Heimdallr’s maincharacteristics and associations, it is possible to consider what a charm devotedto him may have been concerned with. After looking at what may be meantby ‘charm metre’ (galdralag), I survey some poetic mentions of charms, andbring in comparisons from other Germanic traditions (Old High German andOld English), alongside some more recent Scandinavian charms. I then moveon to a neighbouring tradition, the more recent yet archaic Karelian charms,particularly those relating to birth and creation. We cannot determine whatHeimdallargaldr may have encompassed, in terms either of its mythologicalor incantatory content, but these parallel traditions suggest something of theparameters within which it may have functioned.