Ratatoskr

A 17th century Icelandic manuscript depicting Ratatoskr. Although unexplained in the manuscript and not otherwise attested, in this image Ratatoskr bears a horn or tusk.

In Norse mythology, Ratatoskr (Old Norse, generally considered to mean "drill-tooth"[1] or "bore-tooth"[2]) is a squirrel who runs up and down the world tree Yggdrasil to carry messages between the eagles perched atop it and the serpent Níðhöggr who dwells beneath one of the three roots of the tree. Ratatoskr is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson.

  1. ^ Orchard (1997:129), Simek (2007:261), and Byock (2005:173).
  2. ^ Lindow (2001:259).

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