![]() In the Völuspá Nidhögg is described in his function as a dragon of the dead as if he had sprung directly from the Christian imagination of the Middle Ages. If one looks more exactly, however, at least two myth layers can be distinguished in the tradition of Nidhögg, which are not congruent and probably originate from different times. At least this is how one must see him, if one understands the statements of the different texts as puzzle pieces of the same picture. In the Nordic cosmogony of the Middle Ages, Nidhögg is a dragon that feeds on the blood of the dead in or after the end times. His name could therefore be used as Heiti (comparable to a poetic synonym) for snake. Outside the Edda, Nidhögg is still mentioned in the Þulur. The Prose Edda reports nothing about Nidhögg's flight or his nature. With the consequence that Nidhögg does not suck or tear anyone in the Ragnarök, but only stays after the Ragnarök in the spring Hvergelmir and tortures the dead there. In the Prose Edda a different version of this passage of the Völuspá is quoted. The nature of Nidhögg is described only here, namely as a snake and at the same time as a dragon. Moreover, insofar as the kenning "nose bleacher" stands for Nidhögg, he tears up the dead at that time.Īfter the Ragnarök is over, Nidhögg embeds the corpses in his wings and ascends with them from the underworld mountain Nidafjöll, then descends with them. In the creation song Völuspá, on the other hand, Nidhögg is not mentioned at all at the World Tree, but only in the Last Days (Ragnarök), when the murderers and the oath- and adultery-breakers at the dead beach Nastrand arrive at a hall entwined with serpents' backs, where Nidhögg drinks their blood. In contrast to the Grímnismál, the Prose Edda also has the squirrel deliver messages from Nidhögg to the eagle and evaluates their dialogue as an exchange of spite. The Prose Edda builds on this description, adding that Nidhögg lives, along with many serpents, in the spring Hvergelmir, located in Niflheim under the third root of the World Tree.įrom there he gnaws at the root of Yggdrasil. On the one hand, he damages the tree down there by the trunk or the roots, and on the other hand, he receives the words that the squirrel Ratatöskr delivers to him from the eagle that sits in the crown at the other end of the tree. Origins of NidhoggĪccording to the song Grímnismál, Nidhögg belongs to the creatures at the world tree Yggdrasil. ![]() Norrœna Society.Įxternal links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ratatoskr.Nidhögg, also Nidhöggr, Nidhöggur (Old Norse Níðhǫggr "the hateful beater"), is a serpent-like dragon in Norse mythology that lives on the world tree Yggdrasil and torments the dead. Scandinavian Studies', August 1956, volume 28, number 3. 'Three Old Norse Words: Gamban, Ratatoskr, and Gymir' as collected in Sturtevant, Albert Morey (Editor) (1956). Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall.Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. An Icelandic-English Dictionary: Based on the Ms. Davidson, Hilda Roderick Ellis (1993).New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation. It takes little imagination for you to think that the squirrel is saying nasty things about you.' Notes and Katie Ferrell theorize that 'the role of Ratatosk probably derived from the habit of European tree squirrels ( Sciurus vulgaris) to give a scolding alarm call in response to danger.
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