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Slow Havamal: 148
Jun. 12th, 2024 12:21 pm
In verse 148, Odin says he knows a third spell for thwarting his enemies, wherein he dulls the edges of their blades.
My commentary comes up short in these lists of magic spells, but it isn’t for lack of interest. The first three spells we hear about are for help in all kinds of worries and legal troubles, for healing, and now for battle. This one works against the metal edges of enemy blades, rendering them so that they can’t penetrate armor, presumably.
There are lots of conceivable ways to stymie your enemy, including attacking his person directly, or confusing him, filling him with fear, bringing on foul weather, and more. The purpose of this spell isn’t that surprising, as success in battle would have been as important as healing and avoiding other woes. What interests me most is that this one works on metal. Traditionally, iron or steel tends to neutralize magic. Recall that touching iron removes a faery glamour, and I’m blanking on the name of the Native American warrior whose protection against bullets was ruined when he was unknowingly served his meal by someone using a metal utensil.
In this case, it’s metal that suffers at the hands of magic. I’m not sure if the blades were physically dulled (including circumstantially, as in the enemy losing their whetstones or not having time to hone before battle), or if they only seemed to be by some other effect. The result is similar to magic that protected plains warriors against bullets, in that the agent of death is rendered harmless. This is an extension of the physical properties of shields and armor. It also seems to have been used against me in my journey to learn to freehand sharpen my knives.
It may be that targeting a metal weapon with magic is also less of a taboo than targeting a person, which might have been too much sorcery for certain tastes. Or maybe a sword can’t defend itself as well as a man can. Whatever the case, we see that the early spells of Odin, perhaps the most important ones if order mean anything, are eminently practical.
