e apparently
had no share in the closing battle in which all the other gods played
such prominent parts.

CHAPTER XIII: HEIMDALL

The Watchman of the Gods

In the course of a walk along the sea-shore Odin once beheld nine
beautiful giantesses, the wave maidens, Gialp, Greip, Egia, Augeia,
Ulfrun, Aurgiafa, Sindur, Atla, and Iarnsaxa, sound asleep on the
white sand. The god of the sky was so charmed with these beautiful
creatures that, as the Eddas relate, he wedded all nine of them,
and they combined, at the same moment, to bring forth a son, who
received the name of Heimdall.

"Born was I of mothers nine,
Son I am of sisters nine."

Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).

The nine mothers proceeded to nourish their babe on the strength of the
earth, the moisture of the sea, and the heat of the sun, which singular
diet proved so strengthening that the new god acquired his full growth
in a remarkably short space of time, and hastened to join his father
in Asgard. He found the gods proudly contemplating the rainbow bridge
Bifroest, which they had just constructed out of fire, air, and water,
the three materials which can still plainly be seen in its long arch,
where glow the three primary colours: the red representing the fire,
the blue the air, and the green the cool depths of the sea.

The Guardian of the Rainbow

This bridge connected heaven and earth, and ended under the shade of
the mighty world-tree Yggdrasil, close beside the fountain where Mimir
kept guard, and the only drawback to prevent the complete enjoyment
of the glorious spectacle, was the fear lest the frost-giants should
make their way over it and so gain entrance into Asgard.

The gods had been debating the advisability of appointing a trustworthy
guardian, and they hailed the new recruit as one well-fitted to fulfil
the onerous duties of the office.

Heimdall gladly undertook the responsibility and henceforth, night
and day, he kept vigilant watch over the rainbow highway into Asgard.

"Bifroest i' th' east shone forth in brightest green;
On its top, in snow-white sheen,
Heimdal at his post was seen."

Oehlenschlaeger (Pigott's tr.).

To enable their watchman to detect the approach of any enemy from afar,
the assembled gods bestowed upon him senses so keen that he is said
to have been able to hear the grass grow on the hillside, and the
wool on the sheep's back; to see one hundr