Copyright
Edward PettitPublished On
2020-01-14Page Range
pp. 225-234Print Length
9 pages
9. Freyr's Solar Power and the Purifying Sword
- Edward Pettit (author)
Chapter of: The Waning Sword: Conversion Imagery and Celestial Myth in 'Beowulf'(pp. 225–234)
Chapter 9 describes the solar attributes of Freyr and the likely purifying function of Skírnir and his weaponry. Pettit advances parallels between Beowulf’s cleansing of Heorot with the giant sword and, following that sword’s melting, his purification of the mere and the implicit arrival of the thawing sun in springtime.