Ratatoskr

Ratatöskr, and Ratatosk, Ratatösk or Ratatwisker, in Norse mythology, a squirrel, which is among the animals of the world tree Yggdrasil.

Swell

The squirrel is mentioned in the Poetic Edda only in song Grímnismál.

" Ratatoscr heitir ícorni, he renna scal asci at Yggdrasil; Arnar ORD hann scal ofan advisory oc segia Níðhǫggvi NIDR. "

" Ratatosk is called the squirrel the jumping around on the ash Yggdrasil; the words of the eagle carries it from the top down and she says below Nidhögg. "

Accordingly, the squirrel essentially the bearer of the messages of the eagle the dragon Nidhoggr, who is down at the roots of the World Tree. Snorri Sturluson added in his Prose Edda that Ratatöskr vice versa delivers the messages of the Dragon at the eagle and that the two fight a dispute with each other in this way. For whatever reason, is not mentioned.

" Örn einn SITR í limus asksins, ok he hann margs vitandi s í milli augna honum SITR haukr he sá heitir Veðrfölnir. Íkorni sá he heitir Ratatoskr, racing upp ok NIDR eftir askinum ok berr öfundarorð milli arnarins ok Níðhöggs, [ ... ] "

" An eagle sits in the branches of the ash, which has some knowledge and between his eyes sits the hawk called Wedrfölnir. The squirrel Ratatosk that is, jumps up on the ash and down. Between the eagle and Nidhogg, it exchanges hatreds. "

Research

The squirrel is probably not the original basic equipment of the world tree, whose roots can be traced back to Indo-European time. It is probably a ausschmückendes detail from a later period.

The dispute between eagle and dragon motif, however, could be a subject of Indo-European time. Also in Indian Mythology argue the eagle and the snake. In a fable, the Roman poet Phaedrus donates a cat from a tree enmity between an eagle and a wild boar in height at the roots. The dispute between eagle and dragon could represent for the conflict of the building with the destructive forces of the world, the gods and the giants, but you keep it within the science does not necessarily likely.

The name Ratatöskrs, Old Norse Ratatǫskr, passing mostly from Old Norse rati "Drill" and * toskr " tooth (?) " So that the name is translated as " drill tooth, incisor tooth ".

Effect story

The German writer Hans Erich Blaich Ratatöskr chose as one of his pseudonyms.