In some cases it helps you get laid, in others it makes your angry boss chill out. Though often spoken of as a charm to daze or instil fear in enemies, the stave’s exact purpose varies from manuscript to manuscript. The ægishjálmur is certainly one of the most recognizable symbols from the corpus of Early Modern Icelandic magic, collectively refered to as “galdrastafir”, or “magical staves”. Now, time is long overdue to raise the banner once more and declare hunting season on yet another sacred calf of the misguided and opportunistic: The ægishjálmur. Vets to the blog may recall my rough-handed, but no doubt justified assault against the so-called * valknútr and the anachronisms surrounding it.
No subject is too sacred to be spared from the Brute Norse fatwa against disinformation.
