Almáttki áss (the almightyáss "god") is an unknownNorse god evoked in anIcelandic legal oath sworn on atemple ring, mentioned inLandnámabók (Hauksbók 268).
The reference inLandnámabók is found in a section describing the oldheathen laws for how one should swear legal oaths:
"Nefni ek í þat vætti," skyldi hann segja, "at ek vinn eið at baugi, lögeið. Hjálpi mér sváFreyr okNjörðr ok innalmáttki Áss sem ek mun svá sök þessa sækja eða verja eða vitni bera eða kviðu eða dæma sem ek veit réttast ok sannast ok helzt at lögum ok öll lögmæt skil af hendi leysa, þau er undir mik koma, meðan ek em á þessuþingi.
"I call to witness in evidence, he was to say, that I take oath upon the ring, a lawful one (lögeid) so help meFrey andNiord and theAlmighty God, to this end that I shall in this case prosecute or defend or bear witness or give award or pronounce doom according to what I know to be most right and most true and most lawful, and that I will deal lawfully with all such matters in law as I have to deal with while I am at thisThing."
The identity of this divinity has given rise to much speculation.
The identification withThor is by far the most common. The adjective "almighty" applies particularly well to him[note 1] and he had a prominent position by the time of the settlement of Iceland.[citation needed]
Thealmáttki áss can be identified withUllr for inAtlakviða(30)Gudrún mentions the oathsGunnar sworn by Ullr's ring.Rudolf Simek theorizes that this hypothesis was in contradiction with the insignificance of the cult of Ullr.[3]
The expression could also refer toOdin, represented in much of the Old Norse corpus as the most important god of the Norse pantheon.[3]
Rudolf Simek also suggested that thealmáttki áss might beTýr.[3] Even if this god was little known in Iceland, the oath was a legal one and Týr was historically linked to law (cf.Mars Thingsus).[citation needed]
Finally, as the oath was transmitted by a Christian author, thealmáttki áss could have a Christian meaning.John Lindow thus suggested that maybe the author "meant the 'almighty áss' to be a noble pagan anticipation of the new religion that was to come".[4]Régis Boyer shares this opinion, underscoring that the word "almáttki" is nowhere else to be found in a pagan context.[5]