{{short description|Ship in Norse mythology}} {{Italic title}} [[Image:Thor kicks Litr.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Thor Kicks Litr onto Baldr's Burning Ship, illustration by [[Emil Doepler]] (ca. 1905).]] In [[Norse mythology]], '''''Hringhorni''''' ([[Old Norse]] "ship with a circle on the stem"<ref name=SIMEK159>Simek (2007:159).</ref>) is the name of the ship of the god [[Baldr]], described as the "greatest of all ships".
==Mythology== According to ''[[Gylfaginning]]'', following the murder of Baldr by [[Loki]], the other [[Æsir|gods]] brought his body down to the sea and laid him to rest on the ship. They would have launched it out into the water and kindled a funeral pyre for Baldr but were unable to move the great vessel without the help of the [[Jötunn|giantess]] [[Hyrrokkin]], who was sent for out of [[Jötunheim]]. She then flung the ship so violently down the rollers at the first push that flames appeared and the earth trembled, much to the annoyance of [[Thor]].
Along with Baldr, his wife [[Nanna (Norse deity)|Nanna]] was also borne to the funeral pyre after she had died of grief. As Thor was [[consecration|consecrating]] the fire with his hammer [[Mjolnir]], a [[Norse dwarves|dwarf]] named [[Litr]] began cavorting at his feet. Thor then kicked him into the flames and the dwarf was burned up as well. The significance of this seemingly incidental event is speculative but may perhaps find a parallel in religious ritual. Among other artifacts and creatures sacrificed on the pyre of ''Hringhorni'' were [[Odin]]'s gold ring [[Draupnir]] and the [[horse]] of Baldr with all its trappings.
==Notes== {{reflist}}
==References== *[[Rudolf Simek|Simek, Rudolf]] (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. [[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]]. {{ISBN|0-85991-513-1}}
{{Norse mythology}}
[[Category:Baldr]] [[Category:Ships in Norse mythology]]