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InNorse mythology,Naglfar orNaglfari (Old Norse "nail farer") is a boat made entirely from the fingernails and toenails of the dead. During the events ofRagnarök,Naglfar is foretold to sail toVígríðr, ferrying hordes of monsters that will do battle with the gods.Naglfar is attested in thePoetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and theProse 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 amongIndo-Europeans, stemming fromProto-Indo-European custom,[2] and it may be depicted on theTullstorp Runestone inScania,Sweden.
Some dispute has waged over theetymology ofNaglfar. In the late 19th century,Adolf Noreen proposed thatnagl- here does not have its usual meaning of "nail", but, instead, is a variant of Old Norsenár (meaning "corpse") and ultimately derives fromProto-Indo-European *nok-w-i. Noreen claimed that the notion ofNaglfar as a 'nail-ship' is due to afolk etymology; that elaboration on thefolk etymology produced the concept of a "nail-ship".[3]
However,Sigmund Feist (1909) rejects the theory on etymological grounds, as doesAlbert Morley Sturtevant (1951) on the grounds of major difficulties, and their points have ledBruce Lincoln (1977) to comment that "there is no reason whatever to contend thatnagl- does not have its usual meaning of 'nail' and thatNaglfar 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 theIndo-Europeans (see below).[3]
Naglfar is attested in both thePoetic Edda and theProse Edda. In thePoetic Edda,Naglfar is solely mentioned in two stanzas found in the poemVöluspá. In the poem, a deceasedvölva foretells that the ship will arrive with rising waters, carryingHrym andLoki and with them a horde of others:
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In theProse Edda,Naglfar is mentioned four times. The ship is first mentioned in chapter 43 ofGylfaginning, where the enthroned figure ofHigh notes that whileSkíðblaðnir is the best ship—constructed with the finest skill—"the biggest ship isNaglfari, it belongs toMuspell".[7]
In chapter 51, High foretells the events of Ragnarök. RegardingNaglfar, 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 wolfFenrir to break free. After, the Midgardr SerpentJörmungandr 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 ofNaglfar 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 shipNaglfar which gods and men wish would take a long time to finish".[8] High adds that the ship will be captained by the jötunnHrym, and that Naglfar will be carried along with the surging waters of the flood.[8] Further in chapter 51, High quotes theVöluspá stanzas above that references the ship.[9]
Naglfar receives a final mention in theProse Edda inSkáldskaparmál, where it is included among a list of ships.[10]
If the images on theTullstorp Runestone are correctly identified as being from Ragnarök, thenNaglfar is shown below the monstrous wolfFenrir.[11] It has been pointed out that the ship image hasbeakheads both fore and aft unlike any knownViking ship, and is thus likely to be a symbolic ship.[12]
The inscription mentions the nameUlfr ("wolf"), and the nameKleppir/Glippir. The last name is not fully understood, but may have representedGlæipiʀ which is similar toGleipnir which was the rope with which the Fenrir wolf was bound. The two male names may have inspired the theme depicted on the runestone.[13][14]
In his study of treatment of hair and nails among the Indo-Europeans, Bruce Lincoln compares Snorri'sProse Edda comments about nail disposal to anAvestan text, whereAhura Mazdā warns thatdaevas andxrafstras 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 [withIranian myth]."[3]
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Naglfar is the name of a Swedishblack metal band.
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