by Asvinr (William P. Reaves)
"Mimir's sons spring up, for the fate of the world is proclaimed by the old Gjallarhorn." So says Völuspá 46 — but who are Mimir's sons? The verse has puzzled scholars for generations. Ursula Dronke takes them as mankind. Carolyne Larrington calls them "unknown." Sigurd Nordal finds the stanza "extremely obscure."
William P. Reaves, writing as Asvinr in alt.religion.asatru in June 2007, proposes a solution rooted in close reading across multiple sources: Mimir's sons are the dwarves — Sindri's race, the primeval artisans — who have slept in the underworld since Mimir was slain, waiting for Ragnarök. His argument draws on Völuspá, Sólarljóð, Saxo Grammaticus's Danish History, Adam of Bremen's account of Germanic religion, and the Eddic poems Hávamál, Fjölsvinnsmál, and Hyndluljóð.
The "sleeping castle" of the title — a hall of sleeping heroes armed with enormous weapons, ringed by treasure, waiting to wake at the world's end — is preserved in folk traditions across Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. Reaves traces it back to the slumbering sons of Mimir, the protectors of the world-tree's roots, the ancient dwarf-smiths who made Thor's hammer and will fight at Ragnarök. The essay draws substantially on Viktor Rydberg's nineteenth-century scholarship in Teutonic Mythology, which Reaves extends with his own synthesis of Sólarljóð and the Nidi material.
The Opening Verse
Leika Míms synir,
en mjötuður kyndist
að inu gamla
Gjallarhorni;
hátt blæs Heimdallur
horn er á lofti.
"Mimir's sons spring up, for the fate of the world is proclaimed by the old Gjallarhorn. Loud blows Heimdall — the horn is raised."
Scholars have long been puzzled by the meaning of this verse. The identity of "Mimir's sons" is unknown. No source directly informs us that he had sons.
What is clear is that when Heimdall blows his horn, Mimir's sons are active. The word leika means "to play." It has a range of secondary meanings, all of which imply action or motion. "Dance (leap up)" is an appropriate translation; "Move fast" is a stretch.
To illustrate the problem modern scholars face interpreting this cryptic verse, Ursula Dronke (1997) writes: "I have chosen to interpret Mims here as Heimdallars and his sons as mankind. Leika play is then ironically used of the unbridled behavior of men in the preceding stanza."
Carolyne Larrington (1997) writes: "The sons of Mim are unknown. Mim in line 1.4 seems to be identical to Mimir."
Sigurd Nordal in his commentary on Völuspá writes: "The first half of this stanza is extremely obscure. Mullenhoff guessed that Mims synir were rivers and brooks, which now broke their bounds, like everything else in the world. But others prefer the explanation that Mimir is like any other giant's name and that his sons are giants. They play, i.e. are glad and romp around."
One modern translation of this verse reads:
Mim's sons dance (leap up),
but the central tree takes fire,
at the resounding
Gjallar-horn.
Loud blows Heimdall,
his horn is raised;
Odin speaks
with Mim's head.
Rydberg on Leika Míms Synir
This translation is in complete agreement with Rydberg's. He believes that Mimir's sons "leap up" from a long sleep. Here he interprets leika in the same manner it is used in Völuspá 54, where fire "leaps up" to heaven.
Rydberg writes:
In regard to leika, it is to be remembered that its old meaning, "to jump," "to leap," "to fly up," reappears not only in Ulfilas, who translates skirtan of the New Testament with laikan (Luke i. 41, 44, and vi. 23; in the former passage in reference to the child slumbering in Elizabeth's womb; the child "leaps" at her meeting with Mary), but also in another passage in Völuspá, where it is said in regard to Ragnarök, leikur hár hiti við himin sjálfan — "high leaps the fire against heaven itself." Further, we must point out the preterit form kyndisk (from kynna, to make known) by the side of the present form leika. This juxtaposition indicates that the sons of Mimir "rush up," while the fate of the world, the final destiny of creation in advance and immediately beforehand, was proclaimed "by the old Gjallarhorn." The bounding up of Mimir's sons is the effect of the first powerful blast. Thus we have found the meaning of leika Míms synir. Their waking and appearance is one of the signs best remembered in popular traditions of Ragnarök's approach and the return of the dead, and in this strophe Völuspá has preserved the memory of the chateau dormant of Teutonic mythology.
Now the purpose of the "lifeless phantoms" and the swords too large for men to wield mentioned by Saxo in Book 8 of his history are now clear. Giant-sized men — Mimir's sons, i.e. "dwarves" — have slept in the underworld waiting for the battle of Ragnarök. They spring up (leika) when Heimdall blows his horn. In verse 49, while the Æsir are in council preparing for war, Völuspá says "the dwarves groan before the stone gates." Their duty is to protect the underworld and the world-tree itself from the flames of Ragnarök and the invading frost and fire giants. Mimir's grove (Hoddmímisholt) with its precious inhabitants Líf and Lífþrasir, Baldr and Höðr are kept safe in the underworld while the upper worlds are destroyed by the ravages of war and fire. Mimir's sons protect them. They are the ancient artisans who made treasures for the gods.
Nidi's Mountains and Brimir's Hall
Völuspá speaks of both Niðafell (mountains) and Niðavellir (plains). Nida is the possessive form of the proper name Nidi. Thus, Nidi's mountains and Nidi's plains.
On the north there stood,
on Nidi's mountains,
a hall of gold,
for Sindri's race;
and another stood
in Okolnir,
near the Jötun
Brimir's beer-hall.She saw a hall standing,
far from the sun,
in Náströnd;
its doors are northward turned,
venom-drops fall
in through its apertures:
entwined is that hall
with serpent's backs.
After the flames of Ragnarök have subsided, these plains remain. That they are located in the underworld is made plain by what we find there. There resides Níðhöggr, the dragon who gnaws on the world-tree's roots. The realms of punishment found in the underworld are close by, north of Okolnir, the "not cold" home of Brimir's beer-hall and Sindri's golden hall.
- There comes the dark
dragon flying from beneath,
the glistening serpent,
from Nidi's mountains.
On his wings bears Níðhöggr,
flying o'er the plain,
a corpse.
Now she will descend.
From the context of the verses, Nidi's plains and Nidi's mountains are located in the lower world. In Sólarljóð, we find Nidi as a proper name. Thus Nidi's plains and Nidi's mountains must be part of Nidi's kingdom. Nidi means "the lower one" and refers to the ruler of the underworld.
Snorri informs us that Mimir's well is located "where Ginnungagap once was" (Gylfaginning 15), thus at the very center of the known universe, and at the lowest level, in the place that existed before Midgard and Asgard were built. Like Brimir, who possesses a beer-hall, Mimir is a giant known for his drinking. Mimir rules over the central root of the world-tree. The tree itself is known as Mimir's Tree (in the poem Fjölsvinnsmál). According to Vafþrúðnismál, the surrounding area is Hoddmímisholt, or Treasure-Mimir's wood, Hoard-Mimir's forest. Here the human beings Líf and Lífþrasir are preserved for a coming age. Mimir is famous as a keeper of treasures, he is surrounded by the primeval artisans who make treasures for the gods. In German poetry, Mime the old is the ruler of the dwarves. A famous sword is named Miming after him. In Saxo, Danish History Book 3, Hother must go to the underworld to retrieve a weapon kept by Mimingus, a son of Mimir. This diverse range of sources demonstrates that Mimir was well-known as a keeper of treasures in the Germanic oral literature.
Nidi's Sons in Sólarljóð
In the Eddic poem Sólarljóð, we are told that Nidi's sons are seven in number:
From the north riding I saw
the sons of Nidi,
they were seven in all:
from full horns,
the pure mead they drank
from the heaven-god's well.The wind was silent,
the waters stopped their course;
then I heard a doleful sound:
for their husbands
false-faced women
ground earth for food.Gory stones
those dark women
turned sorrowfully.
From the context, Nidi's sons dwell in the lower world and are associated with mead and drinking horns, as do Mimir and his sons the dwarves. Nidi's seven sons are associated with giantesses who grind meal into food for men — these giantesses labor turning the world-mill located at the bottom of the sea. They are the nine mothers of Heimdall.
Nearby stands Sindri's golden hall. Sindri is a dwarf, the artist who made Thor's hammer. According to Snorri's Skáldskaparmál, Sindri and Brokk made Thor's hammer, Frey's boar, and Odin's ring Draupnir. Brimir is a giant well-known for his drinking of mead. In the beginning of time, Brimir's blood was used to help create the dwarves. Here blood can be a heiti for any type of liquid, such as mead. Similarly, in Fáfnismál, blood is called "the liquor of the sword." The fluid in Mimir's well — his "blood" — is the mead of inspiration, the water of life, the creative fluid in the universe.
In the same poem, Mimir is a giant closely associated with mead drinking:
- "Of what wouldst thou ask me?
Odin! I know all,
where thou thine eye didst sink
in the pure well of Mim."
Mim drinks mead each morn
from Valfather's pledge.
Understand ye yet, or what?
From what little is said of him, it is clear that Nidi is best understood as an alternate name of Mimir. Nidi's plains and Nidi's mountains correspond to what we know of Mimir's realm. Nidi's sons, who drink mead, correspond to Mimir's sons, who like their father drink from the well of creative wisdom.
Brimir is best understood as an alternate name for Mimir (see the accompanying post in this thread). His beer-hall is located in the underworld. The dwarves live in golden halls nearby.
Thus Mimir appears in the beginning, middle, and end of the poem Völuspá. His central role as the creative force in the universe is an important structural element of the poem.
Dvalinn, Sindri, and the Rune-Spreaders
As Mótsognir (the mead-drinker), Mimir was foremost in the creation of the dwarves, Sindri's race (Völuspá 10). Among the dwarves he creates are Dvalinn (the Sleeper) and Dáinn (the Dead one). Dvalin has a band of his own, showing he played an important role in the mythology.
Dvalinn and Dáin are among the dwarves created by Mótsognir-Mimir and Durinn-Surt:
- Nýi and Niði,
Norðri and Suðri,
Austri and Vestri,
Alþjófr, Dvalinn,
Nár and Náinn,
Niping, Dáinn.
In Hyndluljóð, Freyja's gold-bristled boar (Gullinbursti) is said to be made by Dáinn and Nabbi:
- Dull art thou, Hyndla!
methinks thou dreamest,
since thou sayest that my man
is on the dead-road with me;
there where my hog sparkles
with its golden bristles,
hight Hildisvíni,
which for me made
the two skilful dwarfs,
Dáin and Nabbi.
Dáinn and Nabbi thus are likely alternate names for Brokk and Sindri.
In Hávamál, four beings spread runes among the various races:
- Odin among the Æsir,
but among the Álfar, Dáin,
and Dvalinn for the dwarfs,
Ásvíðr for the Jötuns:
some I myself graved.
Ásvíðr means As-vinr, friend of the Æsir. This is most likely an epithet of Mimir himself. Reflexively, Odin is called "Mims vinr," Mimir's friend. The source of runes and runic knowledge is Mimir's well. Thus, like Odin, Dáinn and Dvalinn must have obtained their knowledge from the owner of that well, Mimir, the friend of the Æsir.
Odin is a protégé of Mimir who spreads runes to his clan. Dáinn and Dvalinn are thus best understood as protégés of Mimir who spread runic wisdom obtained from Mimir's well to the elves and the dwarves. The so-called dwarf-list of Völuspá contains the names of both dwarves and elves.
All this points to an original identity of these epithets:
- Dáinn (-Brokk) and Dvalinn made treasures together
- (Dáinn-) Brokk and Sindri made Frey's golden boar
- Dáinn and Nabbi made Frey's golden boar
The conclusion we draw is that in our mythology, in which there is a plurality of names, Dvalinn, Sindri, and Nabbi are the same person, and that Dáinn and Brokk are identical.
The primeval artist Sindri, who with his kinsmen inhabits a golden hall in Mimir's realm under Nidi's mountains, near the subterranean fountain of the maelstrom, has therefore borne the epithet Dvalinn, "the one wrapped in slumber." "The slumberer" thus rests with his kinsmen, where Paulus Diaconus has heard that seven men sleep from time out of mind, and where Adam of Bremen makes smithying giants, rich in treasures, keep themselves concealed in lower-world caves within walls surrounded by water.
Sindri-Dvalinn and his kinsmen are therefore Mimir's offspring (Míms synir). The golden citadel situated near the fountain of the maelstrom is therefore inhabited by the sons of Mimir.
The Sleeping Castle
In the same region Mimir's daughter Night has her hall, where she takes her rest after her journey across the heavens. The "sleeping castle" of Teutonic mythology is therefore situated in Night's udal territory, and Dvalinn, "the slumberer," is Night's brother. According to Saxo, voices of women are heard in the tabernaculum belonging to the sleeping men, glittering with weapons and treasures, when Thorkil and his men come to plunder the treasures there (Saxo Book 8).
Mimir, as we know, was the ward of the middle root of the world-tree. His seven sons, representing the changes experienced by the world-tree and nature annually, have with him guarded and tended the holy tree and watered its root with aurgum fossi from the subterranean horn, "Valfather's pledge." When the god-clans became foes, and the Vans seized weapons against the Æsir, Mimir was slain, and the world-tree, losing its wise guardian, became subject to the influence of time. Logic demanded that when the world-tree lost its chief ward, it should also lose that care which under his direction was bestowed upon it by his seven sons. These, voluntarily or involuntarily, retired, and the story of the seven men who sleep in the citadel full of treasures informs us how they thenceforth spend their time until Ragnarök.
Popular traditions scattered over Sweden, Denmark, and Germany have to this very day been preserved, on the lips of the common people, of the men sleeping among weapons and treasures in underground chambers or in rocky halls. A Swedish tradition makes them equipped not only with weapons, but also with horses which in their stalls abide the day when their masters are to awake and sally forth. Common to most of these traditions, both the Northern and the German, is the feature that this is to happen when the greatest distress is at hand, or when the end of the world approaches and the day of judgment comes.
When the heroes who have slept through centuries sally forth, the trumpets of the last day sound, a great battle with the powers of evil is to be fought, an immensely old tree which has withered is to grow green again, and a happier age is to begin.
This immensely old tree, withered at the close of the present period of the world and growing green again after a decisive conflict, can be no other than the world-tree of Teutonic mythology, the Yggdrasil of our Eddas. The angel trumpets, at whose blasts the men within the mountains sally forth, have their prototype in Heimdall's horn, which proclaims the destruction of the world; and the battle to be fought with Antichrist is the Ragnarök conflict, clad in Christian robes, between the gods and the destroyers of the world. Here Mimir's seven sons also have their task to perform. The "wall rock" of the Hvergelmir mountain and its "stone gates" (Völuspá 48 — veggberg, steindyr) require defenders able to wield those immensely large swords which are kept in the sleeping castle on Night's udal fields.
Colophon
Posted by Asvinr (William P. Reaves) to alt.religion.asatru on 12 June 2007. This essay draws substantially on Viktor Rydberg's nineteenth-century work Teutonic Mythology (Undersökningar i germanisk mythologi, 1886–89), which Reaves extends with his own synthesis of the Sólarljóð material and the identification of Nidi's sons with Mimir's sons. Reaves was among the most prolific Eddic scholars posting to alt.religion.asatru in the 2000s; he later published through Norse Mythology Press. The accompanying post in the same thread ("Völuspá 36 — The Giant Brimir") provides the argument that Brimir is an alternate name for Mimir.
Preserved from the Usenet archive for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Original Message-ID: <[email protected]>.
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