Mythologies are often representative of cultural ideals. Instead, they relied on a squirrel named Ratatoskr to convey messages of malice and insult between them.Īt face value, this part of Nidhogg’s story in Norse mythology seems rather benign and even a little odd. Nidhogg and the eagle despised each other, yet never left their respective perches to challenge one another directly. Yggdrasil, the world tree, containing the nine realms of Norse mythology, by Oluf Olufsen Bagge, 1847 ( Public Domain ) Nidhogg versus the Eagle: A Feud Aided by a SquirrelĪt the top of the tree of life was an eagle who went unnamed throughout Norse mythology. Going to Hel and Back: The Realm of the Norse Goddess of the Underworld.This is because many who study Norse mythology do not believe that this deeper portion of Helheim is of Norse origin! They argue that the ideals behind such a realm are not represented in other aspects of their mythology and posit that Nastrond may have been added later by Christian scholars. Nastrond is, however, a debated component of Norse mythology. There, Nidhogg would feast upon their soul until the coming of Ragnarök, when the dragon would be freed from his imprisoning roots. Deeper still was a place known as Nastrond, where the souls of the wicked – murderers and oath-breakers – would be sent after death. If one had not died honorably in battle, they might find themselves in Helheim. Hel’s realm was one of several possible destinations for humans after death. Other sources claimed Nidhogg lived close to the realm of Niflheim, the frozen wasteland home of Hel and her army of the dead. From here, he devoured the roots, hoping to destroy the tree and tip the cosmos into chaos. Nidhogg dwelled in Hvergelmir, one of three wells among the roots of the tree. Yggdrasil, the World Tree, is a towering tree containing the nine realms of Norse mythology. The “curse-striker.” A beast constantly engaged in a battle of wits with eagles, communicating with them by… a squirrel? All this and more is part of the mythology of Nidhogg in Norse legend. An ancient evil that nibbles away at the structure of the universe itself. A dark dragon, feathered, with corpses strewn about its body.
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