Svalinn the legendary shield

I study the relationship between Norse mythology and our current understanding of the universe and today I was reminded of my past thoughts.

In an ancient poem, Grimnismál, stanza 38, found in the Poetic Edda Óđinn rewards Agnar with the wisdom of the world for giving him aid while bound between two fires. And in this poem Óđinn tells Agnar of Svalinn, a legendary shield which stands before the sun. Svalinn means “cooler”. 

Svalinn heitir, hann stendr sólu fyrir, skjöldr, skínanda goði; björg ok brim, ek veit, at brenna skulu, ef hann fellr í frá.

In front of the sun does Svalinn stand, The shield for the shining god; Mountains and sea would be set in flames if it fell from before the sun.

Svalinn is thus the shield that keeps the mountains and valleys from burning, the sea from boiling, and is protecting the earth from the violent relentless charge of the sun. What we witness here might be the first mention in human history of the magnetic field and ozone layer that protects the earth. A thousand years earlier than modern science discovered it.