In
Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
, Huginn (
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
: "thought"
[Orchard (1997:92).]) and Muninn (Old Norse "memory"
[Orchard (1997:115).] or "mind"
[Lindow (2001:186).]) are a pair of
ravens
Ravens may refer to:
* Raven, a species of the genus ''Corvus''
Sports
* Anderson Ravens, the intercollegiate athletic program of Anderson University in Indiana
* Baltimore Ravens, a professional American football franchise
* Benedictine Ravens, ...
that fly all over the world,
Midgard
In Germanic cosmology, Midgard (an anglicised form of Old Norse ; Old English , Old Saxon , Old High German , and Gothic ''Midjun-gards''; "middle yard", "middle enclosure") is the name for Earth (equivalent in meaning to the Greek term , "inhab ...
, and bring information to the god
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
. Huginn and Muninn are attested in the ''
Poetic Edda
The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic me ...
'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources: the ''
Prose Edda
The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' ( is, Snorra Edda) or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often assumed to have been t ...
'' and ''
Heimskringla
''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derived ...
''; in the ''
Third Grammatical Treatise
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (disambiguation)
* Third Avenue (disambiguation)
* Hig ...
'', compiled in the 13th century by
Óláfr Þórðarson
Óláfr Þórðarson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; -1259) was an Icelandic skald and scholar. He is usually called Óláfr hvítaskáld (O.N.: ; M.I.: ; "Olaf the white skald") in contrast to a contemporary skald called Óláfr svartaskáld ...
; and in the poetry of
skald
A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally ...
s. The names of the ravens are sometimes modernly
anglicized
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
as Hugin and Munin.
In the ''Poetic Edda'', a disguised Odin expresses that he fears that they may not return from their daily flights. The ''Prose Edda'' explains that Odin is referred to as ''
Hrafnaguð'' (O.N.: ; "raven-god") due to his association with Huginn and Muninn. In the ''Prose Edda'' and the ''Third Grammatical Treatise'', the two ravens are described as perching on Odin's shoulders. ''Heimskringla'' details that Odin gave Huginn and Muninn the ability to speak.
Examples of artifacts that may depict Odin with one of the ravens include
Migration Period
The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...
golden
bracteate
A bracteate (from the Latin ''bractea'', a thin piece of metal) is a flat, thin, single-sided gold medal worn as jewelry that was produced in Northern Europe predominantly during the Migration Period of the Germanic Iron Age (including the Vende ...
s,
Vendel era
In Swedish prehistory, the Vendel Period ( sv, Vendeltiden; 540–790 AD) appears between the Migration Period and the Viking Age. The name is taken from the rich boat inhumation cemetery at Vendel parish church, Uppland. This is a period wit ...
helmet plates, a pair of identical
Germanic Iron Age
The archaeology of Northern Europe studies the prehistory of Scandinavia and the adjacent North European Plain,
roughly corresponding to the territories of modern Sweden, Norway, Denmark, northern Germany, Poland and the Netherlands.
The regio ...
bird-shaped brooches,
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
objects depicting a moustached man wearing a helmet, and a portion of the 10th or 11th century
Thorwald's Cross. Huginn and Muninn's role as Odin's messengers has been linked to
shaman
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...
ic practices, the Norse
raven banner
The raven banner ( non, hrafnsmerki ; enm, hravenlandeye) was a flag, possibly totemic in nature, flown by various Viking chieftains and other Scandinavian rulers during the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries. The flag, as depicted in Norse artwork, ...
, general raven symbolism among the
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...
, and the Norse concepts of the
fylgja
In Norse mythology, a fylgja (Old Norse: , plural ) is a supernatural being or spirit which accompanies a person in connection to their fate or fortune.
Description
The word means "to accompany" similar to that of the Fetch in Irish folklore. ...
and the
hamingja
The hamingja was a type of female guardian spirit in Norse mythology. It was believed that she accompanied a person and decided their luck and happiness. Consequently, the name was also used to indicate happiness, and that is what it means in mode ...
.
Attestations
![Odin, der Göttervater](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Odin%2C_der_G%C3%B6ttervater.jpg)
In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''
Grímnismál
''Grímnismál'' (Old Norse: ; 'The Lay of Grímnir') is one of the mythological poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. It is preserved in the Codex Regius manuscript and the AM 748 I 4to fragment. It is spoken through the voice of ''Grímnir'', one of ...
'', the god
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
(disguised as ''
Grímnir'') provides the young
Agnarr with information about Odin's companions. He tells the prince about Odin's wolves
Geri and Freki
In Norse mythology, Geri and Freki are two Eurasian wolf, wolves which are said to accompany the god Odin. They are attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', a collection of epic poetry compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, in th ...
, and, in the next stanza of the poem, states that Huginn and Muninn fly daily across the entire world,
Midgard
In Germanic cosmology, Midgard (an anglicised form of Old Norse ; Old English , Old Saxon , Old High German , and Gothic ''Midjun-gards''; "middle yard", "middle enclosure") is the name for Earth (equivalent in meaning to the Greek term , "inhab ...
. Grímnir says that he worries Huginn may not come back, yet more does he fear for Muninn:
In the ''Prose Edda'' book ''
Gylfaginning
''Gylfaginning'' (Old Norse: 'The Beguiling of Gylfi' or 'The Deluding of Gylfi'; c. 20,000 words; 13th century Old Norse pronunciation ) is the first part of the 13th century ''Prose Edda'' after the Prologue. The ''Gylfaginning'' deals with th ...
'' (chapter 38), the enthroned figure of
High
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...
tells
Gangleri (king
Gylfi
In Norse mythology, Gylfi (Old Norse: ), ''Gylfe'', ''Gylvi'', or ''Gylve'' was the earliest recorded king in Scandinavia. He often uses the name Gangleri when appearing in disguise. The traditions on Gylfi deal with how he was tricked by the god ...
in disguise) that two ravens named Huginn and Muninn sit on Odin's shoulders. The ravens tell Odin everything they see and hear. Odin sends Huginn and Muninn out at dawn, and the birds fly all over the world before returning at dinner-time. As a result, Odin is kept informed of many events. High adds that it is from this association that Odin is referred to as "
raven-god". The above-mentioned stanza from ''Grímnismál'' is then quoted.
[Faulkes (1995:33).]
In the ''Prose Edda'' book ''
Skáldskaparmál
''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''.
The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, in ...
'' (chapter 60), Huginn and Muninn appear in a list of poetic names for ravens. In the same chapter, excerpts from a work by the skald
Einarr Skúlason
Einarr Skúlason (ca. 1100 – after 1159) was an Icelandic priest and skald. He was the most prominent Norse poet of the 12th century. Einarr's poetry is primarily preserved in ''Heimskringla'', ''Flateyjarbók'', ''Morkinskinna'', ''Fagrski ...
are provided. In these excerpts Muninn is referenced in a common noun for 'raven' and Huginn is referenced in a
kenning
A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech in the type of circumlocution, a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse-Icelandic and Old English po ...
for 'carrion'.
[Faulkes (1995:138, 244, and 247).]
In the ''
Heimskringla
''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derived ...
'' book ''
Ynglinga saga
''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his ''Heimskringla''. It was first translated into English and published in 1844 ...
'', a
euhemerized
Euhemerism () is an approach to the interpretation of mythology in which mythological accounts are presumed to have originated from real historical events or personages. Euhemerism supposes that historical accounts become myths as they are exagge ...
account of the life of Odin is provided. Chapter 7 describes that Odin had two ravens, and upon these ravens he bestowed the gift of speech. These ravens flew all over the land and brought him information, causing Odin to become "very wise in his lore."
[Hollander (2007:11).]
In the ''
Third Grammatical Treatise
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (disambiguation)
* Third Avenue (disambiguation)
* Hig ...
'' an anonymous verse is recorded that mentions the ravens flying from Odin's shoulders; Huginn seeking hanged men, and Muninn slain bodies. The verse reads:
:Two ravens flew from Hnikar’s ðinn’s:shoulders; Huginn to the hanged and
:Muninn to the slain it. corpses[Wills (2006:8).]
Archaeological record
Migration Period
The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...
(5th and 6th centuries CE) gold
bracteate
A bracteate (from the Latin ''bractea'', a thin piece of metal) is a flat, thin, single-sided gold medal worn as jewelry that was produced in Northern Europe predominantly during the Migration Period of the Germanic Iron Age (including the Vende ...
s (types A, B, and C) feature a depiction of a human figure above a horse, holding a spear and flanked by one or more often two birds. The presence of the birds has led to the iconographic identification of the human figure as the god Odin, flanked by Huginn and Muninn. Like Snorri's ''Prose Edda'' description of the ravens, a bird is sometimes depicted at the ear of the human, or at the ear of the horse. Bracteates have been found in
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
and, in smaller numbers,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and areas south of Denmark.
[Simek (2007:43 and 164).] Austrian Germanist
Rudolf Simek
Rudolf Simek (born 21 February 1954) is an Austrian philologist and religious studies scholar who is Professor and Chair of Ancient German studies, German and Scandinavian studies, Nordic Studies at the University of Bonn. Simek specializes in G ...
states that these bracteates may depict Odin and his ravens healing a horse and may indicate that the birds were originally not simply his battlefield companions but also "Odin's helpers in his veterinary function."
[Simek (2007:164).]
Vendel era
In Swedish prehistory, the Vendel Period ( sv, Vendeltiden; 540–790 AD) appears between the Migration Period and the Viking Age. The name is taken from the rich boat inhumation cemetery at Vendel parish church, Uppland. This is a period wit ...
helmet plates (from the 6th or 7th century) found in a grave in Sweden depict a helmeted figure holding a spear and a shield while riding a horse, flanked by two birds. The plate has been interpreted as Odin accompanied by two birds: his ravens.
[Simek (2007:164) and Lindow (2005:187).]
A pair of identical
Germanic Iron Age
The archaeology of Northern Europe studies the prehistory of Scandinavia and the adjacent North European Plain,
roughly corresponding to the territories of modern Sweden, Norway, Denmark, northern Germany, Poland and the Netherlands.
The regio ...
bird-shaped brooches from
Bejsebakke
Bejsebakke or Sorthøj is a locality in Ansgar Parish, Fleskum Herred, Aalborg Municipality, Denmark where traces of prehistoric settlements from both the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age were found. The area have been archaeologically excav ...
in northern Denmark may be depictions of Huginn and Muninn. The back of each bird features a mask motif, and the feet of the birds are shaped like the heads of animals. The feathers of the birds are also composed of animal heads. Together, the animal heads on the feathers form a mask on the back of the bird. The birds have powerful beaks and fan-shaped tails, indicating that they are ravens. The brooches were intended to be worn on each shoulder, after Germanic Iron Age fashion.
[Petersen (1990:62).] Archaeologist Peter Vang Petersen comments that while the symbolism of the brooches is open to debate, the shape of the beaks and tail feathers confirm that the brooch depictions are ravens. Petersen notes that "raven-shaped ornaments worn as a pair, after the fashion of the day, one on each shoulder, makes one's thoughts turn towards Odin's ravens and the cult of Odin in the Germanic Iron Age." Petersen says that Odin is associated with disguise and that the masks on the ravens may be portraits of Odin.
[
The ]Oseberg tapestry fragments
The Oseberg tapestry is a fragmentary tapestry, discovered within the Viking Oseberg ship burial in Norway.
The tapestry (dated to about 834AD) is in bad condition and was probably a part of the funeral offering in the ship burial. Its decay me ...
, discovered within the Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
Oseberg ship burial in Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, feature a scene containing two black birds hovering over a horse, possibly originally leading a wagon (as a part of a procession of horse-led wagons on the tapestry). In her examination of the tapestry, scholar Anne Stine Ingstad interprets these birds as Huginn and Muninn flying over a covered cart containing an image of Odin, drawing comparison with the images of Nerthus
In Germanic paganism, Nerthus is a goddess associated with a ceremonial wagon procession. Nerthus is attested by first century AD Roman historian Tacitus in his ethnographic work ''Germania''.
In ''Germania'', Tacitus records that a group of Germ ...
attested by Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his t ...
in 1 CE.[Ingstad (1995:141–142).]
Excavations in Ribe
Ribe () is a town in south-west Jutland, Denmark, with a population of 8,257 (2022). It is the seat of the Diocese of Ribe covering southwestern Jutland. Until 1 January 2007, Ribe was the seat of both a surrounding Ribe Municipality, municipali ...
in Denmark have recovered a Viking Age lead metal-caster's mould and 11 identical casting-moulds. These objects depict a moustached man wearing a helmet that features two head-ornaments. Archaeologist Stig Jensen proposes that these ornaments should be interpreted as Huginn and Muninn, and the wearer as Odin. He notes that "similar depictions occur everywhere the Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
s went—from eastern England to Russia and naturally also in the rest of Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
."[Jensen (1990:178).]
A portion of Thorwald's Cross (a partly surviving runestone
A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones da ...
erected at Kirk Andreas on the Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
) depicts a bearded human holding a spear downward at a wolf, his right foot in its mouth, and a large bird on his shoulder.[Pluskowski (2004:158).] Andy Orchard comments that this bird may be either Huginn or Muninn.[Orchard (1997:115).] Rundata
The Scandinavian Runic-text Data Base ( sv, Samnordisk runtextdatabas) is a project involving the creation and maintenance of a database of runic inscriptions. The project's goal is to comprehensively catalog runestones in a machine-readable way f ...
dates the cross to 940,[Entry Br Olsen;185A in Rundata 2.0] while Pluskowski dates it to the 11th century.[ This depiction has been interpreted as Odin, with a raven or eagle at his shoulder, being consumed by the monstrous wolf ]Fenrir
Fenrir (Old Norse: ; "fen-dweller")Orchard (1997:42). or Fenrisúlfr (O.N.: ; "Fenrir's wolf", often translated "Fenris-wolf"),Simek (2007:81). also referred to as Hróðvitnir (O.N.: ; "fame-wolf")Simek (2007:160). and Vánagandr (O.N.: ; " ...
during the events of Ragnarök
In Norse mythology, (; non, Ragnarǫk) is a series of events, including a great battle, foretelling the death of numerous great figures (including the gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdallr, and Loki), natural disasters, and the submers ...
.[Jansson (1987:152)]
In November 2009, the Roskilde Museum
Roskilde Museum is a local history museum based in Roskilde, Denmark. The museum, which is run by the municipalities of Roskilde, Frederikssund and Lejre, has eight separate branches. The main branch in Roskilde, on the corner of Sankt Olsgade and ...
announced the discovery and subsequent display of a niello
Niello is a black mixture, usually of sulphur, copper, silver, and lead, used as an inlay on engraved or etched metal, especially silver. It is added as a powder or paste, then fired until it melts or at least softens, and flows or is pushed ...
-inlaid silver figurine found in Lejre
Lejre is a railway town, with a population of 3,127 (1 January 2022),[Odin from Lejre
Odin from Lejre is a small cast silver figurine from approximately 900 C.E., depicting an individual on a throne flanked by two birds and two animal heads.
Discovery
The figurine was found by local amateur archaeologist Tommy Olesen on 2 September ...](_blank)
". The silver object depicts a person sitting on a throne. The throne features the heads of animals and is flanked by two birds. The Roskilde Museum identifies the figure as Odin sitting on his throne Hliðskjálf
In Norse mythology, Hliðskjálf is the high seat of the god Odin allowing him to see into all realms.
''Poetic Edda''
In ''Grímnismál'', Odin and Frigg are both sitting in Hliðskjálf when they see their foster sons Agnarr and Geirröðr, ...
, flanked by the ravens Huginn and Muninn.[Roskilde Museum]
Odin fra Lejre
an
additional information
. Retrieved Nov 16, 2009.
Reception
Scholars have linked Odin's relation to Huginn and Muninn to shaman
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...
ic practice. John Lindow
John Frederick Lindow (born July 23, 1946) is an American philologist who is Professor Emeritus of Old Norse and Folklore at University of California, Berkeley. He is a well known authority on Old Norse religion and literature.
Biography
John Lin ...
relates Odin's ability to send his "thought" (Huginn) and "mind" (Muninn) to the trance
Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
-state journey of shaman
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...
s. Lindow says the ''Grímnismál'' stanza where Odin worries about the return of Huginn and Muninn "would be consistent with the danger that the shaman faces on the trance-state journey."[Lindow (2001:188).]
Rudolf Simek is critical of the approach, stating that "attempts have been made to interpret Odin's ravens as a personification of the god's intellectual powers, but this can only be assumed from the names Huginn and Muninn themselves which were unlikely to have been invented much before the 9th or 10th centuries" yet that the two ravens, as Odin's companions, appear to derive from much earlier times.[Simek (2007:164).] Instead, Simek connects Huginn and Muninn with wider raven symbolism in the Germanic world, including the raven banner
The raven banner ( non, hrafnsmerki ; enm, hravenlandeye) was a flag, possibly totemic in nature, flown by various Viking chieftains and other Scandinavian rulers during the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries. The flag, as depicted in Norse artwork, ...
(described in English chronicles and Scandinavian sagas), a banner which was woven in a method that allowed it, when fluttering in the wind, to appear as if the raven depicted upon it was beating its wings.[
Anthony Winterbourne connects Huginn and Muninn to the Norse concepts of the ]fylgja
In Norse mythology, a fylgja (Old Norse: , plural ) is a supernatural being or spirit which accompanies a person in connection to their fate or fortune.
Description
The word means "to accompany" similar to that of the Fetch in Irish folklore. ...
—a concept with three characteristics; shape-shifting abilities, good fortune, and the guardian spirit—and the hamingja
The hamingja was a type of female guardian spirit in Norse mythology. It was believed that she accompanied a person and decided their luck and happiness. Consequently, the name was also used to indicate happiness, and that is what it means in mode ...
—the ghostly double of a person that may appear in the form of an animal. Winterbourne states that "The shaman's journey through the different parts of the cosmos is symbolized by the ''hamingja'' concept of the shape-shifting soul, and gains another symbolic dimension for the Norse soul in the account of Oðin's ravens, Huginn and Muninn."[Winterbourne (2004:38–41).] In response to Simek's criticism of attempts to interpret the ravens "philosophically", Winterbourne says that "such speculations ..simply strengthen the conceptual significance made plausible by other features of the mythology" and that the names ''Huginn'' and ''Muninn'' "demand more explanation than is usually provided."[
The '']Heliand
The ''Heliand'' () is an epic poem in Old Saxon, written in the first half of the 9th century. The title means ''saviour'' in Old Saxon (cf. German and Dutch ''Heiland'' meaning "saviour"), and the poem is a Biblical paraphrase that recounts the ...
'', an Old Saxon
Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, was a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German (spoken nowadays in Northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, southern Denmark, the Americas and parts of Eastern Europe). It i ...
adaptation of the New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
from the 9th century, differs from the New Testament in that an explicit reference is made to a dove sitting on the shoulder of Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
. Regarding this, G. Ronald Murphy says "In placing the powerful white dove not just above Christ, but right on his shoulder, the ''Heliand'' author has portrayed Christ, not only as the Son of the All-Ruler, but also as a new Woden. This deliberate image of Christ triumphantly astride the land with the magnificent bird on his shoulders (the author is perhaps a bit embarrassed that the bird is an unwarlike dove!) is an image intended to calm the fears and longings of those who mourn the loss of Woden and who want to return to the old religion's symbols and ways. With this image, Christ becomes a Germanic god, one into whose ears the Spirit of the Almighty whispers".[Murphy (1989:79-80).]
Bernd Heinrich
Bernd Heinrich (born April 19, 1940 in Bad Polzin, Germany), is a professor emeritus in the biology department at the University of Vermont and is the author of a number of books about nature writing and biology. Heinrich has made major contributio ...
theorizes that Huginn and Muninn, along with Odin and his wolves Geri and Freki
In Norse mythology, Geri and Freki are two Eurasian wolf, wolves which are said to accompany the god Odin. They are attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', a collection of epic poetry compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, in th ...
, reflect a symbiosis
Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...
observed in the natural world among ravens, wolves, and humans on the hunt:
:In a biological symbiosis one organism typically shores up some weakness or deficiency of the other(s). As in such a symbiosis, Odin the father of all humans and gods, though in human form was imperfect by himself. As a separate entity he lacked depth perception (being one-eyed) and he was apparently also uninformed and forgetful. But his weaknesses were compensated by his ravens, Hugin (mind) and Munin (memory) who were part of him. They perched on his shoulders and reconnoitered to the ends of the earth each day to return in the evening and tell him the news. He also had two wolves at his side, and the man/god-raven-wolf association was like one single organism in which the ravens were the eyes, mind, and memory, and the wolves the providers of meat and nourishment. As god, Odin was the ethereal part—he only drank wine and spoke only in poetry. I wondered if the Odin myth was a metaphor that playfully and poetically encapsulates ancient knowledge of our prehistoric past as hunters in association with two allies to produce a powerful hunting alliance. It would reflect a past that we have long forgotten and whose meaning has been obscured and badly frayed as we abandoned our hunting cultures to become herders and agriculturists, to whom ravens act as competitors.[Heinrich (2006 ]999 999 or triple nine most often refers to:
* 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries
* 999 (number), an integer
* AD 999, a year
* 999 BC, a year
Books
* ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: ...
355). For discussion of wolf and raven symbiosis, see for example Heinrich (2006 999 999 or triple nine most often refers to:
* 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries
* 999 (number), an integer
* AD 999, a year
* 999 BC, a year
Books
* ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: ...
226-235). For discussion of wolf and human symbiosis, see for example Henrich (2006 999 999 or triple nine most often refers to:
* 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries
* 999 (number), an integer
* AD 999, a year
* 999 BC, a year
Books
* ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: ...
236-244).
See also
* ''Hrafnsmál
''Hrafnsmál'' (Old Norse: ; "raven song") is a fragmentary skaldic poem generally accepted as being written by the 9th-century Norwegian skald Þorbjörn Hornklofi. ''Hrafnsmál'' largely consists of a conversation between an unnamed valkyrie and ...
'', a 9th-century Old Norse poem consisting of a conversation between a valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...
and a raven
* List of names of Odin
Odin (Old Norse Óðinn) is a widely attested god in Germanic mythology. The god is referred to by numerous names and kenningar, particularly in the Old Norse record.
List
In Old English, Odin was known as ; in Old Saxon, as ; and in Old High ...
, which include ''Hrafnaguð'' and ''Hrafnáss'' (both meaning 'raven god')
* Valravn
In Danish folklore, a valravn ( Danish "raven of the slain") is a supernatural raven. Those ravens appear in traditional Danish folksongs, where they are described as originating from ravens who consume the bodies of the dead on the battlefield, a ...
, a supernatural "raven of the slain" appearing in 19th-century Danish folk songs
* Hugin and Munin (Marvel Comics)
Throughout the stories published in Marvel Comics since his first appearance in ''Journey into Mystery'' #83 (Aug. 1962), the Thor character has accumulated a number of recognizable supporting characters. Like Thor, many of these characters ar ...
, Marvel Comics characters based on the Norse originals
* Yatagarasu
Yatagarasu (Yatagarasu, Yata no Karasu) is a mythical crowThe Book of Ancient Matters, The Book of Ancient Matters, Gakken, pp. 130, 138, 139. and a guiding god in Shinto mythology. During Emperor Jimmu's Eastern Expedition, he was guided from ...
, the 3-legged Crow familiar of the Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
Kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
, Amaterasu
Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu Ōmikami () or Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami (), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. One of the major deities (''kami'') of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the ''Kojik ...
.
References
Sources
* Bellows, Henry Adams (1923). ''The Poetic Edda''. American-Scandinavian Foundation.
*Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). ''Edda''. Everyman
The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them.
Origin
The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...
.
* Hollander, Lee Milton. (Trans.) (2007).
Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway
'. University of Texas Press
The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is a university press that is part of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly books and journals in several areas, including Latin American studies, Texan ...
.
*Ingstad, Anne Stine (1995). "The Interpretation of the Oseberg-find" as published in Crumlin-Pedersen, Ole and Thye, Birgitte Munch (Editors). ''The Ship as Symbol in Prehistoric and Medieval Scandinavia: Papers from an International Research Seminar at the Danish National Museum, Copenhagen, 5–7 May 1994''. Nationalmuseet
The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from Strøget ...
.
*Jansson, Sven B. (1987). ''Runes in Sweden''. Stockholm, Gidlund.
*Jensen, Stig (1990). "Odin from Ribe" as collected in ''Oldtidens Ansigt: Faces of the Past''. Det kongelige Nordiske Oldskriftselskab.
* Lindow, John (2001).
Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs
'. Oxford University Press.
* Heinrich, Bernd (2006 999 999 or triple nine most often refers to:
* 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries
* 999 (number), an integer
* AD 999, a year
* 999 BC, a year
Books
* ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: ...
. ''The Mind of the Raven''. Harper Perennial
Harper Perennial is a paperback imprint of the publishing house HarperCollins Publishers.
Overview
Harper Perennial has divisions located in New York, London, Toronto, and Sydney. The imprint is descended from the Perennial Library imprint foun ...
.
*Murphy, G. Ronald. 1989. ''The Saxon Savior''. Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
.
*Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend''. Cassell.
*Petersen, Peter Vang (1990). "Odin's Ravens" as collected in ''Oldtidens Ansigt: Faces of the Past''. Det kongelige Nordiske Oldskriftselskab.
*
* Rundata 2.0 for Windows.
* Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. D.S. Brewer.
* Thorpe, Benjamin (Trans) (1907). ''Edda Sæmundar Hinns Frôða The Edda of Sæmund the Learned''. Part I. London Trübner & Co
*Wills, Tarrin (2006). "The Anonymous Verse in the Third Grammatical Treatise" As published in McKinnell, John, Ashurst, David. Donata, Kick. (Editors). ''The Fantastic in Old Norse/Icelandic Literature, Sagas, and the British Isles: Preprint Papers of The 13th International Saga Conference Durham and York, 6–12 August 2006''. Durham : The Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Online
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huginn And Muninn
Birds in Norse mythology
Mythological duos
Odin
Fictional ravens