Editing Naglfar

{{Short description|Boat in Norse mythology}}
{{For|the Swedish black metal band|Naglfar (band)}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Multiple image | perrow = 1 | total_width = 300 | header = {{big|Naglfar}}
| image1 = Tullstorpstenen, DR 271,Tullstorp 1-1, Runristning (Nagelfar).jpg|
| image2 = Skepp på runsten Ledberg.jpg
| footer = [[11th century]] stone carvings in Sweden, possibly depicting ''Naglfar'' during [[Ragnarök]].<ref>{{cite web |title=När Fenrir fick färg |url=https://k-blogg.se/2016/10/02/nar-fenrir-fick-farg/ |website=k-blogg.se |access-date=2023-12-16}}</ref> Top image from the [[Tullstorp Runestone]]; bottom image from the [[Ledberg stone]]. Note the unconventional outward going bows.
}}

In [[Norse mythology]], '''''Naglfar''''' or '''''Naglfari''''' ([[Old Norse]] "[[Nail (anatomy)|nail]] farer") is a boat made entirely from the fingernails and toenails of the dead. During the events of [[Ragnarök]], ''Naglfar'' is foretold to sail to [[Vígríðr]], ferrying hordes of monsters that will do battle with the gods. ''Naglfar'' is attested in the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''[[Prose Edda]]'', also composed in the 13th century. The boat itself has been connected by scholars with a larger pattern of ritual hair and nail disposal among [[Indo-European studies|Indo-Europeans]], stemming from [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Proto-Indo-European]] custom,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lincoln |first=Bruce |date=1977 |title=Treatment of Hair and Fingernails among the Indo-Europeans |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1062635 |journal=History of Religions |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=351–362 |doi=10.1086/462772 |jstor=1062635 |s2cid=161384998 |issn=0018-2710}}</ref> and it may be depicted on the [[Tullstorp Runestone]] in [[Scania]], [[Sweden]].

==Etymology==
Some dispute has waged over the [[etymology]] of ''Naglfar''. In the late 19th century, [[Adolf Noreen]] proposed that ''nagl-'' here does not have its usual meaning of "[[Nail (anatomy)|nail]]", but, instead, is a variant of Old Norse ''nár'' (meaning "corpse") and ultimately derives from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] *''nok-w-i''. Noreen claimed that the notion of ''Naglfar'' as a 'nail-ship' is due to a [[folk etymology]]; that elaboration on the [[folk etymology]] produced the concept of a "nail-ship".<ref name="LINCOLN360-361">Lincoln (1977:360—361).</ref>

However, [[Sigmund Feist]] (1909) rejects the theory on etymological grounds, as does [[Albert Morley Sturtevant]] (1951) on the grounds of major difficulties, and their points have led [[Bruce Lincoln]] (1977) to comment that "there is no reason whatever to contend that ''nagl-'' does not have its usual meaning of 'nail' and that ''Naglfar'' is anything other than the nail-ship, just as Snorri describes it." In addition, Lincoln finds the ship to be a part of a larger pattern of religious disposal and sacrifice of hair and nails among the [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]]s (see below).<ref name="LINCOLN360-361"/>

==Attestations==
Naglfar is attested in both the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'' and the ''[[Prose Edda]]''. In the ''Poetic Edda'', ''Naglfar'' is solely mentioned in two stanzas found in the poem ''[[Völuspá]]''. In the poem, a deceased [[völva]] foretells that the ship will arrive with rising waters, carrying [[Hrym]] and [[Loki]] and with them a horde of others:
{|
|
:<small>Old Norse:</small>
:Hrymr ekr austan, hefisk lind fyrir,
:snýsk Jörmungandr í jötunmóði;
:ormr knýr unnir, en ari hlakkar,
:slítr nái niðfölr, Naglfar losnar.

:Kjóll ferr austan, koma munu Múspells
:of lög lýðir, en Loki stýrir;
:fara fíflmegir með freka allir,
:þeim er bróðir Býleists í för.<ref>Völuspá 50–51; text from https://www.voluspa.org/voluspa.htm</ref>
|
:<small>[[Benjamin Thorpe]] translation:</small>
:Hrym steers from the east, waters rise,
:the [[Jörmungandr|mundane snake]] is coiled in [[jötunn|jötun]]-rage.
:The [[Worm (dragon)|worm]] beats the water, and the eagle screams:
:the pale of beak tears carcasses; Naglfar is loosed.

:That ship fares from the east:
:come will [[Muspelheim|Muspell]]'s people o'er the sea, and Loki steers.
:The monster's kin goes all with [[Fenrir|the wolf]];
:with them the [[Loki|brother of]] [[Byleist]] on their course.<ref name=THORPE10>Thorpe (1906:7).</ref>
|
:<small>[[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] translation:</small>
:From the east comes Hrym with shield held high;
:In giant-wrath does the serpent writhe;
:O'er the waves he twists, and the tawny eagle
:Gnaws corpses screaming; Naglfar is loose.

:O'er the sea from the north there sails a ship
:With the people of [[Hel (location)|Hel]], at the helm stands Loki;
:After the wolf do wild men follow,
:And with them the brother of Byleist goes.<ref name=BELLOWS21-22>Bellows (1923:21—23).</ref>
|
|}

In the ''Prose Edda'', ''Naglfar'' is mentioned four times. The ship is first mentioned in chapter 43 of ''[[Gylfaginning]]'', where the enthroned figure of [[High, Just-As-High, and Third|High]] notes that while [[Skíðblaðnir]] is the best ship—constructed  with the finest skill—"the biggest ship is ''Naglfari'', it belongs to [[Muspell]]".<ref name=FAULKES36-37>Faulkes (1995:36—37).</ref>

In chapter 51, High foretells the events of Ragnarök. Regarding ''Naglfar'', High says that after the stars disappear from the sky, the landscape will shake so severely that mountains fall apart, trees uproot, and all binds will snap, causing the wolf [[Fenrir]] to break free. After, the Midgardr Serpent [[Jörmungandr]] will fly into a rage and swim to the shore, causing the ocean to swell unto land. ''Naglfar'', too, will be break free from its moorings. High describes the composition of ''Naglfar'' as that of the untrimmed nails of the dead, and warns about burying the dead with untrimmed nails, stating that "the ship is made of dead people's nails, and it is worth taking care lest anyone die with untrimmed nails, since such a person contributes much material to the ship ''Naglfar'' which gods and men wish would take a long time to finish".<ref name=FAULKES53>Faulkes (1995:53).</ref> High adds that the ship will be captained by the jötunn [[Hrym]], and that Naglfar will be carried along with the surging waters of the flood.<ref name=FAULKES53/> Further in chapter 51, High quotes the ''Völuspá'' stanzas above that references the ship.<ref name=FAULKES55>Faulkes (1995:55).</ref>

''Naglfar'' receives a final mention in the ''Prose Edda'' in ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'', where it is included among a list of ships.<ref name=FAULKES162>Faulkes (1995:162).</ref>

==Tullstorp Runestone==
If the images on the [[Tullstorp Runestone]] are correctly identified as being from Ragnarök, then ''Naglfar'' is shown below the monstrous wolf [[Fenrir]].<ref>Merrony (2004:136); Crumlin-Pedersen & Thye (1995:170).</ref> It has been pointed out that the ship image has [[beakhead]]s both fore and aft unlike any known [[Viking ships|Viking ship]], and is thus likely to be a symbolic ship.<ref>McKinnell (2005:114).</ref>

The inscription mentions the name ''Ulfr'' ("wolf"), and the name ''Kleppir''/''Glippir''. The last name is not fully understood, but may have represented ''Glæipiʀ'' which is similar to ''[[Gleipnir]]'' which was the rope with which the Fenrir wolf was bound. The two male names may have inspired the theme depicted on the runestone.<ref>[http://www.k-blogg.se/2016/10/02/nar-fenrir-fick-farg/ När Fenrir fick färg], by Magnus Källström, chief runologist at [[Swedish National Heritage Board]].</ref><ref>Analysis supported as convincing in [http://www.runforum.nordiska.uu.se/blog/bite-me-runestones/ "Bite me" runestones] by [[Henrik Williams]], professor of North Germanic languages at [[Uppsala University]].</ref>

==Interpretations and theories==
In his study of treatment of hair and nails among the Indo-Europeans, Bruce Lincoln compares Snorri's ''Prose Edda'' comments about nail disposal to an [[Avestan]] text, where [[Ahura Mazda|Ahura Mazdā]] warns that [[daeva]]s and [[xrafstras]] will spring from hair and nails that lay without correct burial, noting their conceptual similarities. Lincoln comments that "the specific image of Naglfar, the 'Nail-ship', is undoubtedly specific to the Germanic world, although it does date to an ancient date within that area. But the basic idea on which it is based – that the improper disposal of hair and nails is an act which threatens the well-being of the cosmos – does ascend to the Indo-European period, as can be seen from comparisons [with [[Persian mythology|Iranian myth]]]."<ref name="LINCOLN360-361"/>

== Cultural influence ==
{{unsourced|section|date=December 2021}}
The ship appears in the videogame ''[[The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt]]'' and in its spin-off game [[Gwent: The Witcher Card Game|''Gwent'']] as the vehicle the evil Wild Hunt uses to travel between worlds.

The ship also appears in the videogame ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' in the ''Legion'' expansion. In the dungeon, Maw of Souls, players completed the last half of the 2 part dungeon on the Naglfar. This culminates as you defeat the final boss of the dungeon, Helya.

In ''[[EVE Online]]'', the Naglfar is a dreadnought capital ship.

The magic tome of the boss character Lyon in ''[[Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones]]'' is named Naglfar.

[[John Myers Myers]] made Naglfar the name of the ship sunk in the opening paragraphs of ''[[Silverlock]]'', setting his hero loose from the modern world to traipse his adventurous way into realms of myth and legend.

[[Naglfar (band)|Naglfar]] is the name of a Swedish [[black metal]] band.

Naglfar is the central focus of the novel ''[[The Ship of the Dead]]'' by [[Rick Riordan]], where the main characters go on a quest to prevent its launching.

==See also==
* [[Naglfari]], depending on manuscript, a figure with a similar or identical name

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General and cited references ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bellows |first=Henry Adams (transl.) |author-link=Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|title=The Poetic Edda |publisher=Dover (reprint of American-Scandinavian Foundation edition) |date=2004 |orig-year=1923 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJG6kfgZBf8C |isbn=0486437108}}
* Crumlin-Pedersen, Ole & Thye, Birgitte Munch (eds.) (1995). ''The Ship as Symbol in Prehistoric and Medieval Scandinavia: Papers from an International Research Seminar at the Danish National Museum, Copenhagen, 5th-7th May 1994''. Nationalmuseet. {{ISBN|87-89384-01-6}}
* Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). ''Edda''. [[Everyman's Library|Everyman]]. {{ISBN|0-460-87616-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Krappe |first=Alexander Haggerty |author-link =Alexander Haggerty Krappe |title=Science of Folklore |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |date=2003 |orig-year=1930 |version=Reprint |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yLxnfMHY2ywC |isbn=0-7661-5813-6}}
* [[Bruce Lincoln|Lincoln, Bruce]] (1977). "Treatment of Hair and Fingernails among the Indo-Europeans" from ''History of Religions'', Vol. 16, No. 4, The Mythic Imagination (May, 1977), pages 351—362. [[University of Chicago Press]].
* {{Cite book |last=Lindow |first=John |author-link =John Lindow |title=Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC |isbn=0-19-515382-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Merrony |first=Mark |title=The Vikings: Conquerors, Traders and Pirates |publisher=Periplus |year=2004 |isbn=1-902699-54-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=McKinnell |first=John |title=Meeting the Other in Norse Myth and Legend |publisher=D. S. Brewer |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P2x2x3neFywC |isbn=1-84384-042-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Thorpe |first=Benjamin (Trans.) |author-link=Benjamin Thorpe |title=The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson, Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson |publisher=[[Norrœna Society]] |year=1906 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ptgRrQA4tjQC }}
{{refend}}

{{Norse mythology}}

[[Category:Eschatology in Norse mythology]]
[[Category:Nails (anatomy)]]
[[Category:Ships in Norse mythology]]