This video from 2018 mentions a Discord server connected to my Patreon community. This was a short-lived experiment, and was discontinued shortly thereafter.

"Do they give birth do different parts and assemble them later?" So basically, "Is Heimdall the first Ikea product?"

11:20. Yes I love it when academics and scientists think and speculate out loud.

9 mothers immediately makes me think of 9 months, or the length of a pregnancy.

I wonder if Loki's insult has to do with the fact that "Heimdall is too old to stand straight"

In my opinion, Heimdallr seems very much like a god of boundaries and order, which would explain why he was born on the edge of the universe to nine mothers (as many mothers as the number of worlds, which are all separated from each other by boundaries) and why he divides mankind into classes, seeming to have a particular fondness for the nobility. It might also explain his conflict with Loki, who is more of a trickster figure with chaotic elements.

he is not alone. an indian god, murugan, shiva s son had multiple mothers too. he was a battle god if i am not mistaken.

I can't help but think that Heimdall having 9 mothers, as well as the description of his name that Crawford gave, has to do with the 9 realms in Norse mythology that revolves around the tree Yggdrasil.

Heimdallr could maybe be translated as homedweller? It fits since he is also the guard of the Gods and lives most of the time in his castle Himinbjörg to keep watch. Though in old lower Saxon there is a word called 'dwal'r', which is somebody who travels around without a certain goal. Dwaler is the modern day synonym. In the Orkneys there is a legend of Finfolk which may have a base in the Loki seal story : In Orkney folklore, Finfolk (sometimes Finnfolk) are sorcerous shapeshifters of the sea, the dark mysterious race from Finfolkaheem who regularly make an amphibious journey from the depths of the Finfolk ocean home to the Orkney Islands. According to folklore, the under water dwelling of the Finfolk, is known as Finfolkaheem (literally "Finfolk's Home"). Regarded as territorial and greedy, the Finfolk, in addition to their lust for humans, have a weakness for silver, including silver coins and jewelry.

That is a stunning backdrop.

I've always wondered if Heimdall's association with the rainbow bridge has any connection to him having nine mothers. A rainbow has many bands in it, so maybe each mother gave birth to a different color that combine to make Heimdall, or something along those lines.

Fascinating. Thank you. My Great Grandfather wore an Ullr pendant in the Utah winters for decades. It is an absolute treasure to me. His father taught him to carve runes for protection and he continued to do so when he was in his Sheep camps, but often very secretively as being Mormon, that was frowned upon. I wish I could ask him all the questions I have as an adult, I didn't think of as a child.

Jumping off the Ullr/Heimdall connection I have always thought that there is some kind of connection between Heimdallr and the figure mentioned in Tacitus' Germania known as Mannus. The reason I came to this conclusion is because of the similarity in how Mannus is said to have fathered the ancestral Gods of the three primary Germanic tribes; Irminones, Ingvaeones and Istvaeones with how Heimdallr is said to have fathered the three races of men in the Rigsmal. What's curious there is there's a clear etymological progression with the Ingvaeones and the Old English Ing/Old Norse Freyr, and as for the Irminones Irmin is given as one of Odin's many names which, in my estimation, makes Mannus the father of Odin and Frey at least if you're going by the earlier Proto-Germanic versions of the mythos. Of course this contradicts Snorri's recounting of Odin's origins and the Norse creation myth but I've always been of the belief that, that was a much later mythological creation and arguably not indicative of Norse or early Germanic belief. All that aside I think there's a connection between Heimdall, Ullr and Mannus that we're missing context on, perhaps all three are the same figure.

He was born of different mothers from the nine realms. He must have been born in Yggdrasil. After all, he is the sentry and controls the bifrost. Wouldn’t that explain why and how?

Calling gods beautiful was apparently common in all religions in antiquity. Also, people looked at beauty as not so much feminine in former times. Hebrew Scriptures show no shyness about saying Joseph, David, and Daniel and his three brothers were beautiful, and apocryphal Acts of John gave no pause before calling the Apostle John beautiful. Same in Hindu scriptures, Greek myths, and so on.

The word "dallur" means vessel in Icelandic. Usually used today to describe shallow vessels such as bowls or to mean a seafaring vessel like a boat. It may well be that the word was also used, similarly to the modern use of vessel today, to describe a person into whom some quality is infused. Giving Heimdallurs name the possible meaning of "vessel of the worlds" as his nine mothers, each representing one of the nine worlds, infused him with the essence of those worlds during his creation.

You’re spoiling us with all these uploads Dr.

Heimdallir is a difficult one to fully get. But the fact that he has access to all nine worlds means that he has some kind of relation to them and that is described as he being a son of nine mothers. For his name it can be read as heimta-allar. Which litteraly means take home-all, all nine. There is a reconstructed Proto Germanic word haimatjana with similar desendants in all Germanic and Nordic languages and I think he is very old from the times when all northern Europe was "Old Norse".

When considering the possible origin of the name "valley" might be a reference to gunnigap, very obliquely, if his name and origin does reference the creation myth of the old Norse in some way. I will say that the description of those watching / listening as his children in the prophecy of voulspa - given so shortly after Valfather is used for Odin as the ruler of Valhalla, is almost certainly just a kenning for watches/listeners. It might mean more, but poetic juxtaposition was certainly it's intent in the one example we have.

Thanks for the video this has always been one of my favorite gods. Very thought provoking.

im interested in Hiemdallr right now out of a completely different context relating to western esotericism but it's pretty wild the correlations with the myths and what you have related so thanks! Hail!

I’ve never really thought about this before. Glad you brought it up.

Love this! Super appreciate your perspective on the possible connection between Ullr and Heimdall.

I liked the topic, but the intro.. the 'doiiiing' of the music, perfectly synced with the lightning. That was just awesome.

Thank you for everything you do ... I purchased your version of the Poetic Edda And the saga of the vulsongs... your videos are amazing as well...

love this story the most

Great video! Thanks!

@Jackson Crawford hello, I'm a student of linguistics at the University of Georgia, and I wanted to ask about any possible links of the word 'dallr' to proto-germanic or PIE. Also, could there be any possible links of Heimdall to other European or Mediterranean gods? I personally subscribe to Dumézil's tripartite theory and of a unifying mythological basis in PIE, that many of these mythological traditions spread along with PIE languages. Could Heimdallr be evidence of this? If so, then perhaps we can help clear up some the origins of the myths, similar to the possible connection of Njord to the Celtic God Nerthus. I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject.

We do have the word dall in Norwegien, not frequently used anymore though. And as dialect word I think. Referring either to the special type of wood tin for carrying food, also known as an ambar: snl.no/ambar or to a (little) bundle (no.: bylt).

There's an old metaphor "ramrod stiff back" meaning that someone conforms to the word of the law, maybe too literally, that they are unbending in their ways. An army regimental sergeant major comes to mind. Could this be the way that Loki meant the insult?

Love the idea that Loki's insult is basically saying Heimdall has a stick up his backside. Seems like something a troublemaker would say to a Lawful Good Paladin type. :D

Hey Jackson. In danish we have an old word called "daller" or to "dalre". The meaning of it is hard to explain and its not really in use anymore. It means something along the lines of "moving slowly or unsafe". It can also mean to "hit someone repeatedly" or even something that "shakes". Try and look into it :). Looking foreward to your translation of Rolf Krake, he's an interesting character.

Ullr the glorious one is a very interesting topic, would like a video just on whatever is mentioned about him.

So interesting, thank you! Hugs & sunshine 🌞 N

The image I get -- and of course it has zero standing in anything -- is that Heimdallr is from an early generation of gods, who did his greatest deeds before Odin et al were around. He's still here, but an old man, and like an old warrior with more experience and less vigor, he serves best as a guardsman. His incredible senses could be some kind of indication of his experience: he sees and hears things that escape younger men's notice. Again, this is all speculation on my part.

My first thought of the "nine mothers" was that this sounded similar to a not uncommon practice here in the deep south. Here its fairly normal to call an unrelated person "mom" or "dad" almost as a declaration of that person's positive effect on one's life or as a gesture of gratitude for helping that person when they could not find help elsewhere. Ive noticed the nicknames "the other mother" and "2nd mamma(or 3rd)" used alot.

iviðjur in Völuspá is mysteriously close to the proposed etymology for the swedish word for yew-tree, Ide/yde(gran), which is *iwi + a collective suffix -iðja*. Or a tree-suffix -viðja*. Certainly furthers the tree-theme of heimdall myths as well as Ullar Y-dalr.

I love your intro

I noticed some audio distortion from around minute 4-5 in this video, I’m not sure if that’s a problem with the recording or the upload. I really enjoy all of your content, from the Sierras in beautiful California I wish you all the best 🤠

I can explain the 9 mothers thing. Number 9 means in Norse mythology not that exact amount of persons/days/nights etc. but it means "lot". As in lot of something. 9 mothers therefore doesn't mean that he had that exact amount of mothers but that he had many mothers. That could be explained in the sense of reincarnation - one being that has many mothers because having many bodies which those mothers birthed and that he also was. That number nine means "many/lot" is also in the sense of Wodan/Wotan/Woden/Woten hanging 9 days and 9 nights on Yggdrasil. It doesn't mean that exact amount of days and nights but it means that he hanged there for very long. Also i think that myth with Loki and Heimdall fighting in ragnarok is the case of Loki being also Heimdal for the myth to be at all. Good example of this is myth with Loki being also Utgard-Loki/Skrymir and tricking Thor and his servants in that myth. Loki is shapeshifter after all and can actually have various forms. And in Utgard-Loki myth he challenges himself but Thor thinks he is doing challenge against somebody else. One of the reasons why i think that Heimdall and Loki are the same is because Loki shapeshift into form of seal in multiple myths. Another reason why i think so because of syncretism of Loki and Prometheus - prometheus created humans in greek mythology and you have talked about Heimdall and his association with creation of world and humans. The entity named Loki/Prometheus etc has many names in many cultures but has no name. That being wasn't born, that being is.

Sounds like loki got a good hit and hurt his back now he has trouble sitting but just a fun guess .... love the videos 👍🏻👍🏻

Offered For consideration with out assigning interpretation The insular Celtic sea God Manannan is referred to as the son of 9 waves. 9 women/goddesses show up constantly in the insular Celtic traditions. As late as Arthur being borne away by 9 priestesses after he suffers his wound at Modred's hand. There are 9 different goddesses associated with the title Morrigan, Who is a triad of goddesses but the names in different stories shift constantly some are war goddesses some are fertility goddess and some are sovereignty goddesses. I believe her to be a re framing of the great mother goddess. So I am wondering if perhaps this 9 mothers is a Echo of some basic Indo-European God.

I'm Norwegian. I don't know why, nor whence, but for some reason I seem to think that Heimdallr means "light of the world" and that he's kind of connected with the moon. Did we learn this in school? Quite possible. It could also be one of those "things that people say" ... either way, quite interesting angle with Ullr (albeit not exacly helping with the obscurity of it all).

I'm liking it before I listen. :)

Could we get a video on Surtur and other jotnar?

Probably the coolest person in Colorado

a hypothesis i have is that some aesir or jotun ladies raise their kids in a clan system. meaning if the lead lady has a kid, her younger female relatives take turns caring for the baby. just a thought.

Heimdalar translated as homes valley or worlds valley kind of makes sense to me. He exists between all the world's, but is also connected to them with his senses. He is the valley between worlds.

It's funny to see how in sync the climate in Colorado and Scandinavia is.

Wonderful approach, this is. Thanks! Maybe the quality simply stems from what's called scientific curiousity? I have a comment on the 'dallr', in Heimdallr; which even into modern Norwegian still exist as a verb, for making pretty and nice, which makes my mind wander the streams of association, to a parallell relation between cosmos and cosmetics, etymologically - semantically.. He's not like a creator, but someone, whatever singularity that makes any home, world, appear in the best possible way... We got "Å dalle" - mostly said in a bit derogative sense nowadays, yet the sense is to decorate. "Å dalle for noen" - also a bit derogativish, yet it means to make it really pleasant and comfortable for someone special. "Å dalle seg" - to make onese particularly attractive by putting on make-up, dressing up, with jewelry, somewhat exaggeratingly. "Dill dall" - unnecessities, not seldom with a sense of covering up, distracting, even something too ornamental, or that something is nothing but nice looking, like pure entertainment, or pointless; yet I tend to associate dill-dall with knick-knack. I believe Heimdallr is identified with the names Skiða (as in the poem Skiðarima) and Kvite (White, as in the toponym Kviteseid), besides Vindhlér (Windsea, his grandfather, by the way, is called Hlér (aka Ægir,) who is consort of Rán, the mother of the nine waves: Himinglæva, Dúfa, Bloðughadda, Hefring, Uðr, Hrønn, Bylgja Bára & Kolga; which is identified as the nine mothers of Heimdallr, yet as such they are named: Gialp, Greip, Eystla, Eirgiafa, Ulfrun, Angeya, Imðr, Atla & Iarnsaxa. That these are keys to understanding, at least venturing the nine worlds, seems poetically valid. The nine return in the first set of Heimdallrs grand-daughters, the nine daughters of Þrœll: Drumba, Kumba, Þjoðvarta, Árinnefja (Cinder Ellah, lit.: "nose-in-the-hearth'), Ysja, Ambatt, Eíkinntjasna, Tøtrughypja & Tranebeina (who are flying like a crane, high as a kite).

Is it possible Heimdall may be Hœnir? I was looking in to it and found some connections. I made a video about it but it's just a theory of mine.

Mannan Mac Lir, the Irish sea God, was born of nine mothers. They were the waves of the sea.

6:07 Dallur is a kind of a bucket. Hér er dallur, um dall, frá dalli til dalls? (or dals?) Here are dallar, about dalla, from dalls to dalla. then there are many dallar... When one uses the name "dallur" for a (ílát) container a metal container comes up in my mind. IIRC the word was used for a metal container under milk... straight from the cow. But No Jackson, the word "dallur" is NOT obscure at all.

I know you're the expert but I had heard somewhere that Heimdallr was loosely translated to world dweller. And it would seem to make sense that if he had nine mothers and they are all sisters that he could be a creation of the nine realms since he is supposed to be able to watch over them all

There is no place called "Heimdallrstrup". But what about places named with Rig?

As for place names, named after heimdall. In Denmark we have a “mountain” called himmelbjerget “sky mountain” as in himinbjog heimdall’s home so maybe that is one place named after him. For how long himmelbjerget have had that name I am not sure.

This has turned my mind into a carousel

Are there any places named after Rigr?

Could there be a relation to Rig placenames, for example, Rigsby? Or, is this most likely taken from an individual's name.

Isn't it obvious that the 9 mothers of Heimdall are the 9 Realms, personified as Jotnar? If the giants were personifications of titanic natural forces, it would make sense that the watcher of the nine realms wad born from the nine realms. Furthermore, all mythology can be reduced into instructions for the development of awareness of the soul. Therefore, Yggdrassil is a map of the human psyche (which could mean mind or soul in ancient Greek). This would make Heimdall equivalent to Atlas, whose body is the space between the below and the above, and the seven islands of Atlas are the Greek equivalent to the Nine Realms (the Greeks used a system of 7 planets that represented man as the microcosm of the macrocosm, while the Norse used 9 Realms divided into three trinities: the elemental forces, the humanoids, and the fairy worlds associated with the Vanir representing the unseen).

There is a hill in Denmark called Himmelbjerget, so that could be a clue? Though I can't say for how long that hill has been called that.

Given what you said about the alliteration of "vissi vel Vanier" could it be that Vanir is just another word for Gods?

You translate Himinbjorg as "Heaven Cliff" or something to that effect - is there anything possibly tying it to Himmelbjerget (Heaven Mountain) in Denmark?

What about reading his name this way : Heim teiler : "world separator" from German Teil Dutch deel. I dont know old Norse but I am sure theres a cognate to these words. That would make sense that he has 9 mothers : each world is a mother to him since he separates the 9 heimr . "Teil" implies both separation but also fairness : each being gets their piece, the elves i Alfheim and the Jotun in Jotunheim etc. He also then is a watchman between these worlds, ensuring their separation. Of course he is not Asir or Vanir or Jotun because that would imply he favors one over the other as a sentinel, so he is more of a intermediary neutral person ( he is Switzerland) . He is also someone who sits on the border, so his home is both/neither Valheim or Asguard.

Does anyone know what happens to Freyja after Ragnarök ?

Yep. He is the World Tree.

10:20 a cool thought, not really supported by the myths, but maybe he is born from the 9 realms... like Yggdrasil “mated” with the nine realms and produced Heimdall. Or maybe people from each race had a child until his mother (owning 9 of the realms genetically) mated with an Aesir and gave birth to Heimdall. The nine mothers would be a metaphor.

If based on dallur as in the bucket, heim being world/home. The container/holder of the worlds.

If I may push your thoughts a bit further. It could be that Heimdallr was the first boy to a line of nine women. And if those nine sequential women are standing as the nine realms, that would have Heimdallr be the first man - maybe the sky which connects them all?

Is it possible a frost giant is a very large winter storm?

Great topic, I think that there are stories of Heimdall missing as well. Maybe the story of him standing erect was to imply that he was spineless.

The Icelandic word "dallur" is used for a small container, usually something small and expendable. I'm pretty sure that's not what is being referred to in Heimdallr name. Also "Heim" could be the same as heimur meaning world or universe.

Could the 9 mothers be different teachers or adopted mother's?

Do you think that dallr could be derived in some way from Proto-Indo-European *delh₁ ( to cut; to divide ) perhaps being borrowed from a Balto-Slavic root instead of a Germanic root? The Balto-Slavic root would be dalit from *dalt. The Germanic words derived from the PIE root are derived through Proto-Germanic *taljaną , which becomes Old English tellan and Old Frisian tella. These have a superficial resemblance to dall, but don't necessarily prove relation, as the expected Old Norse word would be telja. However, considering that dallr is seemingly a very obscure word in Old Norse that doesn't have a great explanation, might we want to look for something that is either old or borrowed? I freely admit I'm only guessing, but I would appreciate if you'd explain why you'd consider or dismiss this. I also admit to a bias in that if it's derived from the Proto-Germanic in some way you get something really cool in meaning like "World Counter". Which might tie into something that other people have been thinking of with the nine jotnar women who mothered Heimdallr being personifications of the nine realms of Norse Cosmology. As much as I really want it to be something cool like that, it's probably something that's both weirder and much more bland. I leave it to the experts to discuss. Edit: I'm not sure how or why you'd get i-stem grammar for dallr either.

Could it be something like he is the son of the 9 realms, therefore the 9 women (realms) are his mothers?

I have a theory that heimdell is a son of the 9 worlds how could nine things give birth to one thing? What CONNECTS the nine worlds the world tree so the theory is that he is the son somehow of the world tree but i did read somewhere that well it was weirdly said but it seemed that if one of the giants couldnt have/birth him there were 8 others that could

Hmmmm you mention earlier in the video that his name could have connection with 9 worlds. Now the perplexing question of how he has 9 mothers. Could it be that simultaneously in each of the worlds 1 of the women give birth to a child that some how in the "universe" (for lack of a better term) become the same person to represent all of the 9 worlds. That they are all a part of him?

Could Aegir and Ran 9 daughters be related to Heimdallr mothers? Is it possible these women are one and the same? They are Himminglaeva, Dufa, Blodughadda, Hefring, Ud, Hrönn, Bölge, Dröfn and Kolga. I know they are daughters of waves, whatever that may means. (Maybe the waters of the nine worlds were his mothers.)

Heimdallr is my main patreon

The nordic gods are basically personifacations of the idea they represent. Heimdall could be the personifacation of the world tree Yggdrasil with his nine mothers the nine worlds he protects. His name can also be translated to world tree as Dr. Crawford says. I could be wrong about this but I might not.

What if the 9 mothers thing was just talking about his mother and 8 step mothers? I don’t know if step mothers are a real thing to the Norse Gods but I’m just trying to throw an idea around.

I wonder if ‘mothers’ is a metaphor for ‘worlds’? “I am the child of the nine realms’ - linking with the idea of ‘mother earth’ (people from other worlds might see their own homes in the same way). That would also fit in with the idea of him being older than everyone else. (Really like the idea that ‘whitest’ is a reference to old age. Sounds very plausible!)

Regarding the 9 mothers: Isn't it pretty normal in mythology, that the exact logistics of a gods (or heroes) conception and birth are not examined too closely? As far as I know there are a number of weird couplings in any polytheistic religion I know a little about and no ancient source ever seemed to feel the need to give any detailed explanation for how they could have worked. I can think of numerous myths in which a gods parents would be of wildly different size, be in the form of different species or them even being some elemental force of nature instead of a humanoid person and they never seem to have a problem with producing offspring. If a gods powers, a good narrative or a previous interpretation of a god demand that he is the offspring of two specific gods than he is their offspring, no matter how that would have worked.

ah Dr Crawford, we've agree that you're not interested in the Almighty Johnsons, but one of my (many) (many, MANY) favourite bits was the introduction of Heimdallr - this however was so much better, learnt so much much, so interesting - though frustrating as it is to have such limited sources

When I first heard about this, having "nine mothers" sounded to me like a security system development team. Maybe it has more to do with training than assembly? Maybe being given training in an art or being given a key piece of equipment by a woman evokes a maternal image that we've lost touch with in the modern era? We'd then have to keep our eyes peeled for any reference to upwards of nine skills or pieces of equipment, in whatever combination, that are associated with Heimdallr. Even if assembly is what is being implied, does the origin of the modern word "doll" fit somehow? That could leave someone unnaturally pale, so it makes sense that someone could guess that, too. The problem is this: Would people from thousands of years ago have had the same thought?

DUDE YOU FORGOT YOUR CAMERA

Imagine hearing you need to do your homework nine times...

Ullr and heimdallr being like hermes and pan in greek mythology.

👍

Ullr to me sounds like a female Skadi in certain respects but yes, he seems to be very old and respected. There is also areas of Uppsala in Sweden with Ullr's name incorporated in. Ullrsakersvagen for one.

So, is it possible to find any new poems, or just runestones that will explain the mystery behind Heimdall or other blind spots in Scandinavian myths?

Wasn't he referred to as Odin's son?

I feel like all the commenters should start a fandom page (isn't that what's it called when someone takes up a story or tv show and makes their own spin offs of it?). That would be quite popcorn worthy. Some of these comments are so interesting.

I'm sure you must have considered it although not mentioned it in this video but if Heimdallr and Ullr are one and the same then perhaps you should not be looking for a meaning in the words HEIM-DALL[R] but rather HEIMD-A/ULLR - Could HeimdAllr be a corruption of Heimd-Ullr and Heimd be some sort of epithet ? or is Ullr just a contraction of Heimdallr... ? Are the relevant A and U commonly confused/connected in Norse phonology ?

You could say ullr is the watcher of oath just like heimdall is a watcher of the bifrost and watcher of the world… could heimdallr be connected to like Yggdrasil and the 9 mothers be the nine realms in some way. I mean it would explain his name as home tree…. Just wondering outlaw

9 mothers - 1 each from the 9 realms which is why he is all seeing and all hearing

My theory on the 9 mothers is this, we must consider how genetics works as well as purposing to mate with certain people to bring forth a specific person, i.e., the bloodline of The Virgin Mary to bring forth Jesus. When we consider that it is in fact the grandmother who made the egg that is ourselves and that our fathers had to fertilize the egg, that our grandmother created, through our mothers, then we can see that the 9 mothers are 9 generations of mothers producing egg after egg being purposely fertilized to create the pathway for a particular person to come through that line; like breeding horses if you will, but on a "god" level; a spiritual level. I hope that makes sense! Many blessings to you!

Maybe the nine created him together vs birthed him?

Heimdall is the son of nine mothers I presume that this is a reference to the nine realms, but who is his father? His name is related to a tree, and he is son of all the realms. Yggdrasil, a "Giant" tree, extend it's roots to all the realms, this roots removes energy from all realms and creates a guardian to his own universe. That's my theory My English is bad, sorry

9 is the best number to create a new dynasty without incest compications, if all 9 produce 3 children and then marrages across the distant male- female divide you get a clean progenerator of a new people from one man, much like the story of Tousto from Tacticus writings, 9 realms equals 9 offspring units, or roots, that create the tree trunk(which would be Hiemdallr) then the branches of tree are the men, the new peoples from which is contributed to Hiemdallr being progenitor of. this can be seen using a 9 point circle and working it out, very similar to a wiring pattern of a stator.