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brave men[1]. Brage presided over eloquence and poetry. His wife, named Iduna, had the care of certain apples, which the gods tasted, when they found themselves grow old, and which had the power of instantly restoring them to youth[2]. Heimdal was their porter. The gods had made a bridge between heaven and earth: this bridge is the Rain-bow. Heimdal was employed to watch at one of the extremities of this bridge, for fear the giants should make use of it to get into heaven. It was a difficult matter to surprize him, for the gods had given him the faculty of sleeping more lightly than a bird, and of discovering objects by day or night farther than the distance of a hundred leagues. He had also an ear so fine that he could hear the very grass grow in the meadows and the wool on the backs of the sheep. He carried in the one hand a sword, and in the other a trumpet, the sound of which could be heard through all the
- ↑ From Tyr is derived the name given to the third day of the week in most of the northern languages, viz. in Dan. Tyrsdag or Tiisdag; Sued. Tisdag; English, Tuesday; in Low Dutch, Dings-tag: in Latin, Dies Martis. This proves that Tyr answered to Mars. The Germans in High Dutch call this day Erichs-tag, from the word Heric, or Harec, a Warrior, which comes to the same thing.
- ↑ Edda Mythol. 25.
