Key Info

- Bridge that crosses the river of the dead and leads into Hel

Brief Bio

In Norse mythology, Gjallarbrú "bridge of Gjöll") is a bridge that crosses the river Gjöll, serving as the passage to reach Hel.

It figures most prominently in Snorri Sturluson's Gylfaginning, in the section of the Baldr myth describing the journey of Hermód to Hel in an attempt to retrieve Baldr. After riding nine nights through deep and dark valleys, he comes to the bridge, and there he has a conversation with Módgud, the maiden who guards the bridge. She asks Hermód his name and family and informs him that five troops of dead men rode over the bridge the day before, but the bridge shakes no less under him alone and he doesn't resemble the dead. When she asks Hermód his mission, he tells her and asks whether Baldr has come that way. He has, she replies, and she tells him that the way to Hel lies down and north. Snorri adds the detail that the bridge is thatched with glittering gold.