Mímir is a figure in Norse mythology renowned for his knowledge and wisdom. He was beheaded during the war between the Aesir and the Vanir, and the god Odin afterward carried his severed head with him, consulting it for the secret knowledge and counsel it continued to provide. Mímir appears in the Poetic Edda, in the Prose Edda written by Snorri Sturluson, and in Heimskringla, also by Snorri Sturluson, all thirteenth century compilations drawing on older material. His name is preserved in the well known as Mimisbrunnr and in related names for the world tree Yggdrasil, and some scholars have proposed that the being Bestla was his sister, which would make Mímir a maternal uncle of Odin.
Facts
Attestation
Era of Attestation Veneration TodayHistorically attested; no continuous cult 4 HistoricityNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being 1 Belief
TheologyPolytheistic: many gods 1 Function
Domain / Function Sources
1. The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend
Anthony S. Mercatante, revised and expanded by James R. Dow, Facts on File
2. Mímir, Structured Record (Wikidata Q)
3. Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs
John Lindow, Oxford University Press, 2001Mimir, Poetic Edda (Voluspa)View the Source 4. The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 4th edition
Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth and Esther Eidinow (eds.), Oxford University Press
Wikipedia, "Mímir"
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