Many gods are known for their attributes: the Greek god Zeus with his lightning bolt, the Egyptian god Osiris with his crook and flail, and the Indian god Vishnu with his club, wheel, conch, and lotus flower. Norse myth and archaeological finds show that the Norse gods also had attributes that reflected their character, power, and importance. Below are ten of the most important treasures owned by the Norse gods that were also considered among their defining attributes. They include everything from enchanted weapons to magical footwear.
1. Mjolnir: Thor’s Hammer
Thor’s Hammer “Mjolnir,” which means “lightning maker,” is probably the most famous treasure owned by the Norse gods. The god of thunder is considered the strongest of the Norse gods and is often described using the hammer in his confrontations with the jotun (giants). The hammer was also used to symbolically hallow important events, such as weddings, and consecrate sacred places.
According to the Skáldskaparmál (35) in the Prose Edda, the hammer was made by the Dark Elves, better known as dwarves. This is one of the most famous stories in Norse mythology and explains the origins of many treasures owned by the Norse gods (many included on this list).
The story begins with the trickster Loki deciding to remove Sif’s golden hair as a prank. Thor demands that Loki replace his wife’s hair with something equally fine or suffer the consequences. Loki, therefore, travels to Svartalfheim, the realm of the dwarves. There he meets the Ivaldi brothers. They agree to make a golden headpiece for Sif that they will enchant to grow on her head. They also agree to create two further treasures for the gods—Gungnir and Skidbladnir—to help appease their anger.
While among the dwarves, Loki decides to make some trouble. He encounters another pair of dwarven craftsmen, Brokkr and Eitri, and, deliberately trying to provoke them, boasts that no one can make treasures equal to those of the Ivaldi. The pair take the bait and agree to make another three treasures for the gods. If the gods judge one of their treasures the finest, the dwarven pair want Loki’s head as payment. Loki agrees, and Brokkr and Eitri make Draupnir, Gullinbursti, and Mjolnir.
Loki becomes concerned when he sees Mjolnir, perceiving its magnificence. He tries to sabotage their work by turning into a fly and distracting them. He has limited success, and Mjolnir is made with a handle much shorter than anticipated. It is still a fine treasure, but it will take a person of immense strength to wield the weapon.
All the treasures are taken to Asgard where the gods unanimously agree that Mjolnir, presented to Thor, is the finest of the treasures. But when Brokkr and Eitri try to claim Loki’s neck, he retorts that they can’t take his head without his neck, which was never promised. They settled for sewing his mouth shut, but the effect was only temporary.
Mjolnir became one of the most recognizable symbols of Thor, appearing in iconography and most of the surviving stories about him. He is also said to have possessed iron gloves called Járngreipr and a belt called Megingjörð, both of which increased his already considerable strength.
Mjolnir also became a popular protective symbol among the Vikings with many wearing Mjolnir pendants. The protective nature of Mjolnir is confirmed by an 11th-century Swedish find known as the Kvinneby amulet. The inscription on the amulet invokes “lightning to hold all evil away” and asks Thor to “protect him with his hammer.”
2. Gungnir: Odin’s Spear
One of the treasures reportedly made for the gods as part of Loki’s story and given to Odin was the spear “Gungnir,” which means “swaying.” Other sources suggest that Odin commissioned the spear himself and that it was made from sunlight. Either way, it was so closely associated with Odin that he was regularly depicted with it, and it is one of the attributes used to identify Odin in Viking art.
The spear is described as so well-balanced that it never misses its mark, regardless of the skill of the man wielding it. According to the Sigrdrífumál (17), the spear was inscribed with magical runes
Odin’s spear is also essential to many of his stories from Norse mythology. For example, when Odin decided that he must learn the secrets of the runes, he hung himself from Yggdrasil for nine days and nights while pierced by Gungnir. At the start of the Aesir-Vanir War, Odin also threw his spear over the head of the enemy gods. This act was copied by the Vikings, who would often throw spears over their enemies to dedicate them to Odin. When the Vikings sacrificed enemies, they would also hang them, and pierce them with a spear, in imitation of Odin. Odin is destined to carry his spear when he enters the final battle at Ragnarök.
3. Sumarbrander: Freyr’s Sword
In Norse mythology, the god Freyr had many treasures, but one that he lost was his sword, sometimes called Sumarbrander, though this name does not survive in the ancient sources. The sword was said to be enchanted. It could fight on its own and could not be beaten.
Freyr lost the sword when he fell in love with the giantess Gerdr, whom he spied from Odin’s throne Hildskjalf, which looks out across the whole world. He falls into a deep depression when he realizes that they cannot be together, but eventually asks his messenger Skirnir to go and woo the woman on his behalf. Skirnir agrees to do so, but only in return for Freyr’s sword as payment.
Through threats and coercion, Skirnir convinces Gerdr to meet and marry Freyr and then seemingly disappears with the sword. As a result, Freyr does not have the sword when he fights the giant Surtr at Ragnarök and is killed along with many of the other gods. Some interpreters suggest that Surtr’s flaming sword is in fact Freyr’s sword, acquired in some unknown way, adding further tragedy to the course of events.
Swords were considered prestigious weapons among the Vikings. They were much more expensive and complex to manufacture than spears and axes, so only the wealthiest Vikings carried them into battle.
4. Gjallarhorn: Heimdall’s Horn
The god Heimdall, who guarded the Rainbow Bifrost Bridge, is also described and depicted as carrying a sword, but his much more famous attribute was a horn called “Gjallarhorn,” which means “hollering horn.” He is destined to use the horn to alert the other gods of the giants crossing over the Bifrost Bridge toward Asgard at Ragnarök. The blast of the horn will be heard throughout all the worlds. During the final battle, he will fight with Loki and the two will kill one another.
While the horn is mostly closely associated with Heimdall, it is also linked to Mimir. Mimir was a god or giant sent to live among the Vanir gods after the end of the Aesir-Vanir War. But the Vanir grew suspicious of him, killed him, and sent his head to Odin. Not wanting to lose the counsel of his wise friend, Odin cast a spell to preserve the head, which he placed at the Well of Wisdom, where it is magically reanimated to counsel Odin.
The Gylfaginning (15) implies that Mimir drinks from the well with Gjallarhorn every morning and it imbues him with wisdom, though a more plausible scenario may be that his head is fed water from the well to reanimate it so that he can bestow wisdom. Odin also drank from the well, plucking out his own eye as payment, and may also have drunk using Gjallarhorn.
5. Skidbladnir: Freyr’s Boat
Another treasure made for the god Freyr by the dwarves was Skidbladnir. This was an enchanted longship that was big enough to carry all the gods in full armor and was enchanted to always get a fair wind. But when not in use, the boat could be folded up like a cloth and carried by the god in his pouch.
The ship was clearly meant to represent the ideal ship in the eyes of the Vikings, who usually sailed close to the shore and pulled their ships ashore to camp on land at night. Their ships were extremely shallow, which meant there was little protection when sleeping. But it also meant that the ships were light. They were flipped and used as protection for the camp and sometimes carried over land to rivers to continue sailing.
6. Gullinbursti: Frey’s Golden Boar
Freyr was also given the golden bull “Gullinbursti,” which means “golden bristles,” by the dwarves as part of Loki’s deal. The dwarves threw a pig’s skin into the furnace and worked the bellows to create the magnificent creature. Gullinbursti was said to shine so brightly that he could illuminate the darkest night, and he could run through the air and over water better than any horse.
The god and his boar were so closely related that the animal was often used to represent Freyr. The boar is a ferocious animal respected by the Vikings for its strength, but it was also an animal of plenty, as boars were often feasted upon. This reflects the complex nature of the god, as both a warrior and a fertility figure.
7. Draupnir: Odin’s Golden Ring
Another treasure made by the dwarves was a fine gold ring called “Draupnir,” which means “dripper.” It was enchanted so that every nine days it would produce eight rings equally fine. It was given to Odin, the leader of the Aesir gods, and was an appropriate gift for a chief. Viking leaders were expected to share wealth with their followers as a sign of mutual respect and loyalty. Wealth was often gifted in the form of arm rings. We are never told what kind of ring Draupnir is, as the same words are used for both arm and finger rings.
We are told that Odin placed the ring on the funeral pyre of his son Balder when he died. This allowed the ring to be transported to Helheim to be with Balder, as according to “Odin’s Law” described in the Ynglinga Saga (8) men could bring with them to the afterlife whatever was burned with them on their funeral pyre and anything they had personally buried in the ground for that purpose. Hermodr then retrieved the ring for Odin when he went to Helheim to unsuccessfully negotiate for Balder’s life.
8. Brisingamen: Freyja’s Necklace
The Norse goddesses also had their attributes, and the most famous is the gold necklace owned by the goddess Freyja. Called “Brisingamen,” which means “necklace gleaming like the sun,” it was also made by a group of dwarves, who were probably called the Brisinga.
The origins of Brisingamen are recorded in the Saga of Olaf Tryggvason, written by 14th-century priests about the sainted Viking king. It is a euhemerization story with Odin portrayed as an ancient Norse king, and Freyja as his concubine. She is drawn to the forge of four dwarves named Dvalinn, Alfrik, Berling, and Grer and sees them making the finest necklace she has ever seen. She offers the dwarves silver and gold for the necklace, but they refuse, saying they will only give her Brisingamen if she spends a night with each of them, which she does.
What would have been a simple transaction was then complicated by Loki, who witnessed the meeting. He raced back to Odin and told him what happened, and Odin ordered Loki to steal Brisingamen to punish Freyja. He turns himself into a fly to enter Freyja’s room at night and steal the necklace. He finds her sleeping on her back, so he bites her to get her to turn over so he can access the clasp. This seems to be a clear reference to the other story of Loki and the dwarven craftsmen. In any case, he successfully takes the necklace.
When Freyja discovers what has happened, she confronts Odin. He says that he will only return the necklace to her if she curses two kings to fight for eternity or until they are slain by Christian men. She does as requested, and the two kings fight for 100 years until they are killed by the Christian lord Olaf Tryggvason.
It is unclear how this euhemerized Christian version of this story relates to the original myth. A fragmented myth describes Heimdall fighting in the shape of a seal with Loki to retrieve Brisingamen, which may be part of the original story.
Whatever the true origin story, it was clearly considered an identifying characteristic of the goddess. When the giant Thrym stole Thor’s hammer, he said that he would only return it in exchange for the hand of the goddess Freyja in marriage. She refused to participate in any ruse, so instead, Thor was convinced to dress up as a woman and go undercover as Freyja to retrieve his hammer. To complete his look, he had to borrow her trademark necklace.
9. Falcon Cloak: Freyja’s Wings
Freyja also possesses a cloak made from falcon feathers. It also appears in the story of Thor impersonating Freyja. Before Thor goes undercover, Loki flies to the land of the Jotun to search for the hammer. To do this, he asks to borrow Freyja’s cloak, which enables him to fly. This is a strange story since in many other myths, Loki can shapeshift into a bird and fly. She lends it to him again when he flies to Jotunheim to rescue the goddess Idunn, whom he helped kidnap in the first place.
There is some debate over whether Freyja was considered a Valkyrie, one of the divine shieldmaidens who helped Odin decide the outcome of battles and take brave fallen warriors to Valhalla. This is suggested by several of her characteristics including the description of Odin ordering her to determine the outcome of a battle in the Brisingamen story, and her connection with Folkvangr, another afterlife for brave fallen warriors. The Valkyries are also often described as flying, and perhaps they had similar falcon feather cloaks.
10. The Greatest Boots: Vidar’s Shoes
According to the Ragnarök prophecy, Odin will lead his fallen warriors into battle carrying Gungnir, but he will be devoured by the mighty wolf Fenrir. He will be avenged by one of his many sons, Vidar, who will be able to stand in the wolf’s mouth without being devoured thanks to some special shoes.
Vidar is sometimes referred to by the kenning “he of the iron shoes,” though his shoes are actually described as made from thick leather. It is said that he is constantly reinforcing his shoes with more leather, and shoemakers were encouraged to dedicate leather offcuts from their work to the god.
