Study › Runes & Norse › Gjallarhorn
Gjallarhorn, the "Resounding Horn", belongs to Heimdall, the watchman of the gods. Its note is heard in all nine worlds, and Heimdall will blow it once, at Ragnarok, to call the gods to their last battle.
What is Gjallarhorn?
Gjallarhorn, the 'Resounding Horn', belongs to the watchman Heimdall, who guards the rainbow bridge Bifrost at the edge of Asgard. Its note can be heard across all nine worlds.
The horn at Ragnarok
It stays silent through the long ages, but at the coming of Ragnarok Heimdall will raise it and blow one great blast to wake the gods and call them to their last battle. In some tellings the horn also rests by the well of Mimir, beneath the roots of Yggdrasil.
The Völuspá tells of that moment: "loud blows Heimdall, the horn is aloft." The same poem speaks of a horn at Mimir's well from which Mimir drinks mead every morning, and scholars still debate whether it is Heimdall's horn or another of the same name.
It belongs to Heimdall and sounds at Ragnarok.
Questions
What does Gjallarhorn mean?
"Resounding Horn" or "Yelling Horn".
When is Gjallarhorn blown?
At the start of Ragnarok, to wake the gods.