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In Norse mythology
Norse mythology

Norse, Viking or Scandinavian mythology comprises the beliefs, myths and legends of the Norse paganism of the North Germanic language people, including those who settled on Faroe Islands and Iceland, where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled....
, Gungnir (Old Norse
Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic languages that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
 "swaying one") is Odin
Odin

Odin , is considered the chief ?sir in Norse paganism. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxons Woden and the Old High German Wotan, it is descended from Proto-Germanic *Wodanaz or *Wodanaz....
's spear
Spear

A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a sharpened head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be of another material fastened to the shaft, such as obsidian, iron or bronze....
.

he Poetic Edda
Poetic Edda

The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends....
 poem Völuspá
Völuspá

V?lusp? is the first and best known poem of the Poetic Edda. It tells the story of the creation of the world and its coming end related by a v?lva addressing Odin....
, the war between the Ćsir
Ćsir

In Old Norse, ?ss is the term denoting a member of the principal groups of gods of the List of Norse gods of Norse paganism. They include many of the major figures, such as Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr....
 and the Vanir
Vanir

In Norse mythology, the Vanir are one of two groups of gods, the other being the ?sir. The two groups are described as having waged war against one another in the ?sir-Vanir War?, resulting in the unification of the two into a single tribe of gods....
 is described as officially starting when Odin throws a spear over the heads of an assembly of Vanir gods. Whether or not this was specifically Gungnir is, however, unstated. In Sigrdrífumál
Sigrdrífumál

Sigrdr?fum?l or Brynhildarlj?? is one of the heroic poems of the Poetic Edda. It relates the meeting of the valkyrie Sigrdr?fa with the hero Sigur?r and largely consists of Sigrdr?fa's advice to him, which includes cryptic references to Norse mythology and runic magic Runic alphabet....
, the valkyrie
Valkyrie

File:The Ride of the Valkyrs.jpgIn Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a wikt:host#Noun_2 of female figures who choose those who die in battle....
 Sigrdrífa
Sigrdrífa

In Norse mythology, Sigrdr?fa is valkyrie. She appears in Sigrdr?fum?l as the mentor of Sigurd. In the Poetic Edda she is identified with Brynhildr....
 advises Sigurd
Sigurd

Sigurd is a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Volsunga saga. The earliest extant representations for his legend come in pictorial form from seven runestones in Sweden and most notably the Ramsund carving and the G?k Runestone ....
 on the magical application of runes
Runic alphabet

The runic alphabets are a set of related alphabets using Letter known as runes to write various Germanic languages prior to the adoption of the Latin alphabet and for specialized purposes thereafter....
.






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In Norse mythology
Norse mythology

Norse, Viking or Scandinavian mythology comprises the beliefs, myths and legends of the Norse paganism of the North Germanic language people, including those who settled on Faroe Islands and Iceland, where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled....
, Gungnir (Old Norse
Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic languages that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
 "swaying one") is Odin
Odin

Odin , is considered the chief ?sir in Norse paganism. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxons Woden and the Old High German Wotan, it is descended from Proto-Germanic *Wodanaz or *Wodanaz....
's spear
Spear

A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a sharpened head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be of another material fastened to the shaft, such as obsidian, iron or bronze....
.

Attestations


Poetic Edda

In the Poetic Edda
Poetic Edda

The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends....
 poem Völuspá
Völuspá

V?lusp? is the first and best known poem of the Poetic Edda. It tells the story of the creation of the world and its coming end related by a v?lva addressing Odin....
, the war between the Ćsir
Ćsir

In Old Norse, ?ss is the term denoting a member of the principal groups of gods of the List of Norse gods of Norse paganism. They include many of the major figures, such as Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr....
 and the Vanir
Vanir

In Norse mythology, the Vanir are one of two groups of gods, the other being the ?sir. The two groups are described as having waged war against one another in the ?sir-Vanir War?, resulting in the unification of the two into a single tribe of gods....
 is described as officially starting when Odin throws a spear over the heads of an assembly of Vanir gods. Whether or not this was specifically Gungnir is, however, unstated. In Sigrdrífumál
Sigrdrífumál

Sigrdr?fum?l or Brynhildarlj?? is one of the heroic poems of the Poetic Edda. It relates the meeting of the valkyrie Sigrdr?fa with the hero Sigur?r and largely consists of Sigrdr?fa's advice to him, which includes cryptic references to Norse mythology and runic magic Runic alphabet....
, the valkyrie
Valkyrie

File:The Ride of the Valkyrs.jpgIn Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a wikt:host#Noun_2 of female figures who choose those who die in battle....
 Sigrdrífa
Sigrdrífa

In Norse mythology, Sigrdr?fa is valkyrie. She appears in Sigrdr?fum?l as the mentor of Sigurd. In the Poetic Edda she is identified with Brynhildr....
 advises Sigurd
Sigurd

Sigurd is a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Volsunga saga. The earliest extant representations for his legend come in pictorial form from seven runestones in Sweden and most notably the Ramsund carving and the G?k Runestone ....
 on the magical application of runes
Runic alphabet

The runic alphabets are a set of related alphabets using Letter known as runes to write various Germanic languages prior to the adoption of the Latin alphabet and for specialized purposes thereafter....
. She tells Sigurd that, as well as on numerous other things, runes were carved on the tip of Gungnir.

Prose Edda

According to chapter 51 of the Prose Edda
Prose Edda

The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Old Norse language Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Norse mythology....
 book Gylfaginning
Gylfaginning

Gylfaginning, or the Tricking of Gylfi , is the first part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda after Prologue . The Gylfaginning deals with the creation and destruction of the world of the Norse gods, and many other aspects of Norse mythology....
, Odin will ride in front of his Einherjar
Einherjar

In Norse mythology, the einherjar are those that have died in battle and are brought to Valhalla by valkyries. In Valhalla, the einherjar eat their fill of the nightly-resurrecting beast S?hr?mnir, and are brought their fill of mead by valkyries....
 while advancing on to the battle field at Ragnarök
Ragnarök

In Norse mythology, Ragnar?k is a series of major events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures , the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water....
 wearing a gold helmet, an impressive cloak of mail and carrying Gungnir. He will then attack the wolf Fenrir with it.

In Skáldskaparmál
Skáldskaparmál

The second part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda the Sk?ldskaparm?l or "language of poetry" is effectively a dialogue between the Norse god of the sea, ?gir and Bragi, the god of poetry, in which both Norse mythology and discourse on the nature of poetry are intertwined....
, more information regarding the spear is presented. The spear was fashioned by the dwarves
Norse dwarves

Dvergar or Norse dwarves are highly significant entities in Norse mythology, who associate with stones, the underground, deathliness, luck, magic, and technology, especially forging....
 known as the Sons of Ivaldi
Sons of Ivaldi

In Norse mythology, the Sons of Ivaldi are a group of Norse dwarves or dark-elves [d?kkalfar], who fashion Skidbladnir, the ship of Freyr, and the Gungnir, the spear of Odin, as well as golden hair for Sif to replace what Loki had cut off....
 under the mastery of the blacksmith dwarf Dvalin
Dvalin

In Norse mythology, Dvalin is a Norse dwarves who appears in several Old Norse tales and kennings. The name translates as "the dormant one" or "the one slumbering" ....
. The spear was obtained from the dwarves by Loki
Loki

File:Loke og Sigyn by Eckersberg.jpgIn Norse mythology, Loki is a ?ss or j?tunn . Loki's relation with the gods varies by source. Loki assists the gods, and sometimes causes problems for them....
, the results of a scheme he concocted as a partial reparation for his cutting of Sif's
Sif

In Norse mythology, Sif is a goddess with golden hair and is the wife of the god Thor. Sif is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson....
 hair. The spear is described as having the ability to always hit its mark.

See also

  • Bracteate
    Bracteate

    A bracteate is a flat, thin, single-sided gold coin produced in Northern Europe predominantly during the Migration Period of the Germanic Iron Age , but the name is also used for later produced coins of silver produced in central Europe during the early Middle Ages....
  • Migration period spear
    Migration Period spear

    The spear together with the migration period sword, the longsax and the shield was the main equipment of the Germanic peoples Germanic warfare during the Migration period and the Early Middle Ages....
  • Mjolnir
    Mjolnir

    In Norse mythology, Mj?llnir or Mj?lner is the hammer of Thor, a major god associated with thunder in Norse mythology. Distinctively shaped, Mj?llnir is depicted in Norse mythology as one of the most fearsome weapons, capable of leveling mountains....
  • Thunderbolt
    Thunderbolt

    A thunderbolt is a traditional expression for a discharge of lightning or a symbolic representation thereof. In its original usage the word may also have been a description of meteors, although this is not currently the case....
  • Viking Age arms and armour
    Viking Age arms and armour

    Our knowledge about arms and armour of the Viking Age is based on relatively sparse archaeological finds, pictorial representation, and to some extent on the accounts in the Norse sagas and Norse laws recorded in the thirteenth century....