Key Info

- Weapon created by Loki to kill Viðofnir atop the World Tree thus preventing him from warning Odin of Ragnarök

Brief Bio

Lævateinn is a weapon crafted by Loki mentioned in the Poetic Edda poem Fjölsvinnsmál. 

The weapon is needed to slay the rooster Viðofnir atop the Mímameiðr tree (World Tree) in order for the seeker to achieve his quest, or so replies the wise porter Fjölsviðr, the titular character of the poem.

The purpose behind the creation of this extraordinary weapon becomes apparent when its role in slaying the rooster Viðofnir is revealed. Viðofnir, a mythological bird perched atop the world tree Mímaðeir (which is identical to the world tree Yggdrasil), held a crucial responsibility. As the crowing rooster, it served as a warning system, signaling the impending Ragnarök, the cataclysmic event marking the end of the world and civilization.

However, the existence of Lævateinn disrupted the natural order. This exceptional weapon possessed the power to kill Viðofnir, consequently hindering Odin, the chief god in Norse mythology, from receiving the rooster’s warning. Odin, who would have used the forewarning to prepare his army and potentially prevent Ragnarök, was left unaware of the imminent doom.

Lævateinn has variously been asserted to be a dart (or some projectile weapon), or a sword, or a wand, by different commentators and translators. It is glossed as literally meaning a "wand" causing damage by several sources, yet some of these same sources claim simultaneously that the name is a kenning for sword.