Helm of Awe

"Ægishjálmur" redirects here. For the occult symbol, see Ægishjálmur (occult symbol).

The Helm of Awe, or Helm of Terror (Old Norse: Ǿgishjalmr, Icelandic: Ægishjálmur), is an object in Norse mythology relating to the hoard protected by the worm Fáfnir and subsequently the name of a modern Icelandic magical stave.

Etymology

The name is a compound of Old Norse: œgir, "one who frightens", stemming from agi, "awe, feeling of fear and reverence, reverent obedience through deterrent terror", and hjálmr, "helmet".

According to Alessia Bauer and Alexandra Pesch, the name is "commonly interpreted as 'helmet of awe' or 'helmet of terror'".^[1]

Medieval attestations of the object

Völsunga saga

A physical object called the Ægishjálmur is referenced as one item Sigurðr takes from Fáfnir's hoard after he slays him in Völsunga saga.^[2]

Reginsmál

In the prose of Reginsmál, Fáfnir is described as owning the helm and that all living creatures feared it.^[3]

Fáfnismál

The object is also discussed in Fáfnismál in the Poetic Edda, here translated as "Fear-helm":

Old Norse text[4]	Bellows translation[5]
Fáfnir kvað: "Ægishjalm bar ek of alda sonum, meðan ek of menjum lák; einn rammari hugðumk öllum vera, fannk-a ek svá marga mögu." Sigurðr kvað: "Ægishjalmr bergr einungi, hvar skulu vreiðir vega; þá þat finnr, er með fleirum kemr, at engi er einna hvatastr."	Fafnir spake: The fear-helm I wore to afright mankind, While guarding my gold I lay; Mightier seemed I than any man, For a fiercer never I found. Sigurth spake: "The fear-helm surely no man shields When he faces a valiant foe; Oft one finds, when the foe he meets, That he is not the bravest of all."

In the next stanzas of the poem, Sigurðr refers to the helm again:

Old Norse text[6]	Bellows translation[7]
"Inn fráni ormr, þú gerðir fræs mikla ok galzt harðan hug; heift at meiri verðr hölða sonum, at þann hjalm hafi."	"Glittering worm, thy hissing was great, And hard didst show thy heart; But hatred more | have the sons of men For him who owns the helm."