Skofnung
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Skofnung was the sword of legendary Danish king Hrólf Kraki. It was renowned for supernatural sharpness and hardness, as well as for being imbued with the spirits of the kings 12 faithful berserker bodyguards.
It appears in saga unrelated to Hrólf, it being said that an Icelander plundered his grave mound and recovered it, so it may have had some historical reality. Events concerning it are related in chapter 9 and 10 of Kormáks saga.
It also appears in the Laxdœla saga, where it has come into the possession of Eid of Ás. Eid is the son of Midfjardar-Skeggi, who had originally taken Skofnung from Hrólf Kraki's grave. The sword is handed down from Eid to his kinsman Thorkel Eyjólfsson, and it is briefly lost when Thorkel's ship is capsized while sailing around Iceland, and all of those on it drown. It is presumably recovered at some point by Thorkel's son Gellir, as he is mentioned carrying it with him later in the saga. The actual saga, however, never mentions how Gellir came to possess the sword. After Gellir's death, the sword is said to have disappeared.
According to Eid of Ás in chapter 57 of the Laxdœla saga, the sword is not to be drawn in the presence of women, and that the sun must never shine on the sword's hilt. This is in accordance with many other ancient superstitions, such as the Eggjum stone in Norway. It is also told by Eid that any wound made by Skofnung will not heal unless rubbed with the Skofnung Stone, which Eid gives to Thorkel Eyjólfsson along with the sword.
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