Naglfar

The name of the ship that shall ferry the Sons of Múspell to Vígríðr to do battle with the Æsir. The ship shall be loosed by the writhing of Jörmungandr and will be piloted by Loki, according to Völuspá:

The worm beats the water,
and the eagle screams:
the pale of beak tears carcases;
Naglfar is loosed.
That ship fares from the east:
come will Muspell's
people o'er the sea,
and Loki steers.

Snorri Sturluson says in Gylfaginning (51) that at Ragnarök the Midgard Serpent will stir in giant wrath and advance upon the land; this will cause the sea to gush forth upon the land, and loosen Naglfar. According to Snorri, the giant who steers the ship is Hrymr, and not Loki. He further adds that the ship is made entirely from the nails of the deceased.

Naglfar is described by Hárr in Gylfaginning (43) as being the largest of all ships and he says that that it belongs to Múspell.

Old Norse, nagl, "nail," and fara, "to make." Snorri adds that any man who dies with unshorn nails adds material to the ship. This information is not attested elsewhere.

References

Sources

  • Gylfaginning, 43, 51.
  • Völuspá, 49-50.