The mythological Norse ravens Huginn and Muninn: Interrogators of the newly slain

William Sayers

The mythological Norse ravens Huginn and Muninn: Interrogators of the newly slain

Publication date: 30.05.2022

Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis, 2022, Volume 139, Issue 2, pp. 143 - 155

https://doi.org/10.4467/20834624SL.22.008.15632

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Titles

The mythological Norse ravens Huginn and Muninn: Interrogators of the newly slain

Abstract

In preference to the common assumption that Óðinn’s ravens daily gather general information from around the world and report back to their master, this study identifies their principal informants as the newly dead (recently slain warriors and hanged men), and the information gathered not simply wisdom but tactical intelligence needed for the eventual cataclysmic battle of Ragnarǫk, in which Óðinn’s troop of fallen warriors, the Einherjar of Valhǫll (named in Gylfaginning in the same context as the ravens), will also participate. The study addresses the central questions of chthonic wisdom, of how the dead (are presumed to) know what is hidden from the living, and why Snorri, in contrast to the skalds, paints an innocuous picture of the ravens.

Keywords

Óðinn, ravens, death, Ragnarǫk, religious conversion

References

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Information

Information: Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis, 2022, Volume 139, Issue 2, pp. 143 - 155

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4467/20834624SL.22.008.15632

Article type: Original article

Titles:

Polish:

The mythological Norse ravens Huginn and Muninn: Interrogators of the newly slain

English:

The mythological Norse ravens Huginn and Muninn: Interrogators of the newly slain

Authors

William Sayers

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9406-6649

Cornell University, Ithaca

Published at: 30.05.2022

Article status: Open

Licence: CC BY

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William Sayers (Author) - 100%

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