Skofnung
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Skofnung was the sword of legendary Danish king
It appears in saga unrelated to Hrólf, it is said that an Icelander, Skeggi of Midfirth (or Midfjardar-Skeggi),
It also appears in the
Skofnung is briefly lost when Thorkel's ship capsized while sailing around Iceland, and all of those on it drowned. The sword sticks fast in some of the ship's timbers and washes ashore. It is thus recovered at some point by Thorkel's son Gellir, as he is mentioned carrying it with him later in the saga. Gellir dies in Denmark returning from a pilgrimage to Rome and is buried at Roskilde, and it seems Skofnung was buried with him (near where the sword was recovered from the burial mound in the first place), as the saga records that Gellir had the sword with him "and it was not recovered afterward".[3]: 17
According to Eid of Ás in chapter 57 of the Laxdœla saga, the sword is not to be drawn unless a battle is imminent, and the sun must never shine on the sword's hilt.
The sword could not be drawn in the presence of a woman; if it was drawn it must "taste blood" before it can be resheathed.
References
- ^ Hrólfs saga kraka, Chapter 45. One of the translations by Peter Tunstall (2005).
- ^ Oakeshott, Ewart (1991). Records of the Medieval Sword. The Boydell Press. p. 4.
- ^ ISSN 0146-9339.