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 ...

, Sköll (

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 ...

: ''Skǫll'', "Treachery"Orchard (1997:150). or "Mockery"Simek (2007:292)) is a wolf that, according to

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...

's ''

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 ...

'', chases the Sun (personified as a goddess, Sól).

Hati Hróðvitnisson In Norse mythology, Hati Hróðvitnisson (Old Norse: , first name meaning "He Who Hates", or "Enemy"Byock, Jesse. (Trans.) ''The Prose Edda'', page 164. (2006) Penguin Classics ) is a warg; a wolf that, according to Snorri Sturluson's ''Prose Edda ...

chases the Moon (personified, see

Máni Máni (Old Norse: ; "Moon"Orchard (1997:109).) is the Moon personified in Germanic mythology. Máni, personified, is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written ...

). According to Rudolf Simek, it is possible that Sköll is another name for

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.: ; " ...

, and, if so, "there could be a nature-mythological interpretation in the case of Sköll and Hati (who pursues the moon). Such an interpretation suggests the wolves may be intended to describe the phenomenon of parhelia and paraselenae or

Sun dog A sun dog (or sundog) or mock sun, also called a parhelion (plural parhelia) in meteorology, is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that consists of a bright spot to one or both sides of the Sun. Two sun dogs often flank the Sun within a 22° ...

s and

Moon dog A moon dog (or moondog) or mock moon, also called a paraselene (plural paraselenae) in meteorology, is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that consists of a bright spot to one or both sides of the Moon. They are exactly analogous to sun dogs. M ...

s, as these are called 'sun-wolf' in Scandinavian languages (Norwegian ''solulv'', Swedish ''solvarg'')."

Notes

References

*Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend''. Cassell. *Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. D.S. Brewer. Wolves in Norse mythology Mythological canines {{Norse-myth-stub

See also

Notes

References