Skofnung

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Skofnung was the sword of legendary Danish king Hrlf Kraki. "The best of all swords that have been carried
in northern lands", it was renowned for supernatural sharpness and hardness, as well as for being imbued with
the spirits of the king's 12 faithful berserker bodyguards.
It appears in saga unrelated to Hrlf, it being said that an Icelander, Skeggi of Midfirth, who was chosen by lot
to break into the gravemound and plunder it, recovered the sword while doing so, so it may have had some
historical reality. Other similar incidents are found in Norse literature, such as Grettir the Strong's recovery of a
sword from a burial mound. Events concerning the recovery of Skofnung are related in chapter 9 and 10 of
Kormks saga.
It also appears in the Laxdla saga, where it has come into the possession of Eid of s. Eid is the son of
Midfjardar-Skeggi, who had originally taken Skofnung from Hrlf Kraki's grave. The sword is handed down
from Eid to his kinsman Thorkel Eyjlfsson. Eid lends the sword to Thorkel to kill the outlaw Grim, who had
killed Eid's son. Thorkel fought Grim, but the two became friends, and Thorkel never returned the sword to Eid.
Skofnung is briefly lost when Thorkel's ship is capsized while sailing around Iceland, and all of those on it
drown. The sword stuck fast in some of the timbers of the ship, and washed ashore. It was thus recovered at
some point by Thorkel's son Gellir, as he is mentioned carrying it with him later in the saga. Gellir dies in
Denmark returning from pilgrimage to Rome, and is buried at Roskilde, and it seems Skofnung was buried with
him (near where the sword was recovered from the burial mound in the first place) because the saga records that
Gellir had the sword with him "and it was not recovered afterwards".
According to Eid of s in chapter 57 of the Laxdla saga, the sword is not to be drawn in the presence of
women, and that the sun must never shine on the sword's hilt. This is in accordance with many other ancient
superstitions, such as the Eggjum stone in Norway. It is also told by Eid that any wound made by Skofnung will
not heal unless rubbed with the Skofnung Stone, which Eid gives to Thorkel Eyjlfsson along with the sword.

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Categories: Weapon stubs Mythological swords Mythological Norse weapons
This page was last modified on 20 June 2015, at 10:38.
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