Svalinn

File:The Chariot of the Sun by Collingwood.JPG

The Chariot of the Sun by W. G. Collingwood

Svalinn is a legendary shield in Nordic mythology which stands in front of Sun, protecting the world from her heat. It has been suggested to be part of a continuous tradition of solar imagery dating back to the Nordic Bronze Age.

Etymology

Template:Lang in Old Norse translates as "cold" or "chill" and is derived from the verb Template:Lang, meaning "to cool", in turn from the adjective Template:Langx ('cool'), from Template:Langx from Template:Langx ("to burn slowly, create a burningly cold sensation") from Proto-Indo-European: '*swel-' ("to shine, warm up, burn").Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Attestations

Grímnismál

In Grímnismál, Odin gives the role of Svalinn as part of his description of the cosmology:

Old Norse textTemplate:Sfn

Orchard translationTemplate:Sfn

Bellows translationTemplate:Sfn

Dronke translationTemplate:Sfn

Template:Lang

Early-waker, All-swift:

from here they have

to drag wearily on Sun;

but under their saddle-bows the Aesir have concealed,

kind powers, cooling irons

Chill is the name,

of what stands before the sun,

a shield before the shining god.

mountains and oceans

I know should burn,

if it fell from in front.

Arvak and Alsvith

up shall drag

Weary the weight of the sun;

But an iron cool have the kindly gods

Of yore set under their yokes.

In front of the sun

does Svalinn stand,

The shield for the shining god;

Mountains and sea

would be set in flames

If it fell from before the sun.

Early Waker and All Strong

—slim steeds—up from here

have to haul the sun;

but under their withers the blithe powers

implanted

eternal [currents of] iron-cold air.

Shiver is its name,

he stands before the sun,

a shield for the shining goddess.

Mountain and main

I know must burn,

if he falls off.

Nafnaþulur

In the Nafnaþulur section of the Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson records Svalinn in a list of shields:

Old Norse textTemplate:Sfn	Ingham translationTemplate:Sfn
Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang	Resounding, dew-scraper and gem-shelterer, battle-light, stony and battle-shelter, cooled and board, defiled, border, little stern, beaky, sheer, double boarded, battler and roarer, everlasting, shining, ring, fair-dark, carried, middle-protector.

Sigrdrífumál

In Sigrdrífumál, runes are described as being carved on a shield, identified with Svalinn, along with the horses that draw Sun's chariot.Template:Sfn

Old Norse textTemplate:Sfn	Orchard translationTemplate:Sfn
Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang	On the shield they should be cut, that stands before the bright god, on Early-waker's ears and the hoof of All-swift, on the wheel turning under Hrungnir's chariot, on Sleipnir's teeth, and on the straps of sledges

Interpretation and symbolism

File:Solvognen-00100.jpg

The gilded side of the Trundholm sun chariot

The association between the sun and shields is noted both in Þórsdrápa, in which the sun is described as 'the splendid sky-shield',Template:Sfn Template:Refn and in Skáldskaparmál, in which a kenning for 'shield' is the "sun of the ship" (Template:Langx). This relationship between ships, shields and the sun has been suggested to originate in the Nordic Bronze Age, in which all three form part of the sun myth.Template:Sfn Ritual shields dating to the Bronze Age have also been discovered in Scandinavia which have been noted by scholars to resemble the sun and were possibly used to represent it in a religious context.Template:Sfn

In the Nordic Bronze Age, the sun could be depicted as a wheel cross or a disc, as with the Trundholm sun chariot. It has been argued that the disc later ceased to be seen as a representation of the sun god herself and instead as it appears in the sky, as a round shield. By this theory, the role of the shield in preventing the world from overheating came later to explain its presence.Template:Sfn