9. Freyr's Solar Power and the Purifying Sword

Chapter 9 describes the solar attributes of Freyr and the likely purifying function of Skírnir and his weaponry. Pettit advances parallels between Beowulf’s cleansing of Heorot with the giant sword and, following that sword’s melting, his purification of the mere and the implicit arrival of the thawing sun in springtime.