Study › Runes & Norse › Nidhogg and Ratatoskr
Nidhogg is the dragon of Norse mythology that gnaws at the root of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. Ratatoskr is the squirrel that runs up and down the tree, carrying insults between Nidhogg and the eagle at the top.
What is Nidhogg?
At the bottom of Yggdrasil, beside the spring Hvergelmir, lies the dragon Nidhogg, 'Malice-Striker', gnawing at the root of the World Tree along with countless serpents. In the Völuspá it also feeds on the corpses of oath-breakers and murderers on the shore of the dead.
Ratatoskr and the eagle
At the top of the tree sits a great eagle, with a hawk called Vedrfolnir perched between its eyes. Between the two runs Ratatoskr, a squirrel who races up and down the trunk, carrying the insults of the eagle to the dragon and the dragon's insults back to the eagle, and keeping their quarrel alive.
The tree that never dies
The World Tree is always under attack: deer bite its leaves, its roots rot and are gnawed. Yet it lives and stays green, fed by the Norns from their well. The poem ends with an image of the new world after Ragnarok, with Nidhogg flying overhead, the dead upon its wings.
Both live in Yggdrasil, the World Tree, which shakes at Ragnarok.
Questions
What does Nidhogg mean?
"Malice-Striker", or one who strikes in hatred.
What does Ratatoskr do?
It runs up and down Yggdrasil carrying the eagle's insults to the dragon, and the dragon's back to the eagle.
Does Nidhogg survive Ragnarok?
The poem Voluspa ends with Nidhogg flying over the new world, carrying the dead on its wings.