Himinbjǫrg

Authors: Youla Azkarrula

---

Himinbjǫrg, painting by Jessica Gullberg for Stellarium.

Himinbjǫrg, the Heimdall’s castle, is a Norse constellation mentioned in the Rímtǫl glosses, which dates back to the 11th century CE and is an Old Norse calendar of 52 weeks (364 days). 

Concordance, Etymology, History

Origin of Constellation

Himinbjǫrg (Heimdall’s castle) is the structure standing on Bifröst and inhabited by the Æsir Heimdall, who has keen eyesight and guards the bridge against giants (Sturluson 2017, p. 39). The quadrilateral formed by Algenib, Markab, Alpheratz, and Scheat at the long arc conveys a clear image of a structure atop a bridge.

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

nothing known

Rökstenen, rune stone near Ödeshög in south Sweden (CC BY Bengt Olof ÅRADSSON)

Weblinks

• Norse Constellations by Digitalis Solutions
• Valkyria.com Norse Calendar

All HIP Stars within this constellation

Convex Hull for the stars inside Himinbjǫrg (CC BY Jakob Eyermann).

References

• References (general)