View source for Nidhogg

{{short description|Serpent from Norse mythology}}
{{other uses}}
{{more footnotes|date=February 2018}}
[[File:Nidhogg.png|thumb|right|300px|Níðhǫggr gnaws the roots of Yggdrasill in this illustration from a 17th-century Icelandic manuscript.]]
'''Nidhogg''' ({{langx|non|[[wikt:Níðhǫggr|Níðhǫggr]]}}, {{IPA|non|ˈniːðˌhɔɡːz̠|}}; Modern {{langx|is|Níðhöggur}}; {{langx|no|Nidhogg}}; {{langx|da|Nidhug}}; {{langx|sv|Nidhugg}}) is a [[Germanic dragon]] in [[Norse mythology]] who is said to gnaw at the roots of the [[world tree]], [[Yggdrasil]], and is likewise associated with the dead in [[Hel (location)|Hel]] and [[Niflheim]].

== Etymology ==
While the suffix of the name, ''-höggr'', literally "hewer", clearly means "biter, striker", etc, the prefix is not as clear. In particular, the length of the first vowel is not determined in the original sources. It could be {{lang|non|niðr}} ("down, downwards"), thus "Biter Below (the roots)", or {{lang|non|níð}} (see below).

In historical [[Vikings|Viking]] society, ''[[níð]]'' (archaic English: ''nith'') was a term for a [[social stigma]], implying the loss of honor and the status of a [[villain]]. Thus, its name might refer to its role as a horrific monster in its action of chewing the corpses of the inhabitants of [[Niflheim]]: those guilty of murder, adultery, and oath-breaking, thus something akin to "Malice Biter". Some scholars prefer the reading "Striker in the Dark".

In either case, the name seems to also refer to him gnawing on the roots of the tree Yggdrasil.

=== Orthography ===
In the standardized [[Old Norse orthography]], the name is spelled ''{{lang|non|Níðhǫggr}}'', but the letter ''{{lang|non|[[ǫ]]}}'' is frequently replaced with the Modern Icelandic ''{{lang|is|[[ö]]}}'' for reasons of familiarity or technical expediency.

The name can be [[Old Norse orthography#Anglicized spelling|represented in English texts]] with ''i'' for ''í''; ''th'', ''d'' or (rarely) ''dh'' for ''ð''; ''o'' for ''ǫ'' and optionally without ''r'' as in Modern Scandinavian reflexes. The [[Icelandic language|Modern Icelandic]] form ''{{lang|is|Níðhöggur}}'' is also sometimes seen, with special characters or similarly anglicized. The [[Danish language|Danish]] forms ''{{lang|da|Nidhug}}'' and ''{{lang|da|Nidhøg}}'' can also be encountered; or [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] ''{{lang|no|Nidhogg}}'' and [[Swedish language|Swedish]] ''{{lang|sv|Nidhögg}}''. The English cognate would be Nithhewer.

== ''Prose Edda'' ==
According to the ''[[Gylfaginning]]'' part of [[Snorri Sturluson]]'s ''[[Prose Edda]]'', Níðhǫggr is a being which gnaws one of the three roots of [[Yggdrasill]]. It is sometimes believed that the roots are trapping the beast from the world. This root is placed over [[Niflheimr]] and Níðhǫggr gnaws it from beneath. The same source also says that "[t]he squirrel called [[Ratatoskr]] runs up and down the length of the Ash, bearing envious words between the [[Veðrfölnir and eagle|eagle]] and Nídhǫggr [the snake]."<ref>''Gylfaginning'' XVI, Brodeur's translation.</ref>

In the ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'' section of the ''Prose Edda'' Snorri specifies Níðhǫggr as a serpent in a list of names of such creatures:

:These are names for serpents: dragon, [[Fafnir]], [[Jormungand]], adder, Nidhogg, snake, viper, Goinn, Moinn, Grafvitnir, Grabak, Ofnir, Svafnir, masked one.<ref>Faulkes translation, p.137</ref>

Snorri's knowledge of Níðhǫggr seems to come from two of the [[Eddic poem]]s: ''[[Grímnismál]]'' and ''[[Völuspá]]''.

Later in ''Skáldskaparmál'', Snorri includes Níðhǫggr in a list of various terms and names for swords.<ref>Faulkes translation, p.159</ref>

==Poetic Edda==

The poem ''Grímnismál'' identifies a number of beings which live in Yggdrasill. The tree suffers great hardship from all the creatures which live on it. The poem identifies Níðhǫggr as tearing at the tree from beneath and also mentions Ratatoskr as carrying messages between Níðhǫggr and the eagle who lives at the top of the tree. Snorri Sturluson often quotes Grímnismál and clearly used it as his source for this information.

The poem ''Völuspá'' mentions Níðhöggr/Níðhǫggr twice. The first instance is in its description of [[Náströnd]].

{| cellpadding="5"
! style="width:33% | [https://web.archive.org/web/20090413124631/http://www3.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/vsp3.html E.<!--Eysteinn--> Björnsson's edition]:
! style="width:33% | [[Ursula Dronke|Dronke]]'s translation:
! style="width:33% | Free translation:
|- style="vertical-align:top; white-space:nowrap;"
|<poem lang|non>{{lang|non|Sal sá hon standa
sólu fjarri
Náströndu á,
norðr horfa dyrr.
Fellu eitrdropar
inn um ljóra,
sá er undinn salr
orma hryggjum.

Sá hon þar vaða
þunga strauma
menn meinsvara
ok morðvarga
ok þanns annars glepr
eyrarúnu.
Þar saug '''Niðhöggr'''
nái framgengna,
sleit vargr vera—
vituð ér enn, eða hvat ?
}}
</poem>
|<poem lang|en>
A hall she saw standing
remote from the sun
on Dead Body Shore.
Its door looks north.
There fell drops of venom
in through the roof vent.
That hall is woven
of serpents' spines.

She saw there wading
onerous streams
men perjured
and wolfish murderers
and the one who seduces
another's close-trusted wife.
There '''Malice Striker''' sucked
corpses of the dead,
the wolf tore men.
Do you still seek to know? And what?
</poem>
|<poem lang|en>
Hall she saw standing
far from the sun
on [[Náströnd]];
the door looking north.
[[Atter]]drops fell
in around the roof vent,
such is the hall woven
of worms' spines.

She saw there wading
heavy streams
perjurious men
and murderers
and the one seducing another's
ear entrusted (life partner)
There sucked '''Nidhogg'''
bodies of the departed,
the monster tore the men—
do you know yet, or what?
</poem>
|}

Nidhogg is also mentioned at the end of ''Völuspá'', where he is identified as a dragon and a serpent (see [[Germanic dragon]]).

{| cellpadding="5"
! style="width:33% | [https://web.archive.org/web/20090413124631/http://www3.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/vsp3.html E.<!--Eysteinn--> Björnsson's edition]:
! style="width:33% | [[Ursula Dronke|Dronke]]'s translation:
! style="width:33% | Free translation:
|- style="vertical-align:top; white-space:nowrap;"
|<poem lang|non>{{lang|non|Þar kømr inn dimmi
dreki fljúgandi,
naðr fránn, neðan
frá Niðafjöllum.
Berr sér í fjöðrum
—flýgr völl yfir—
'''Níðhöggr''' nái—
nú mun hon søkkvask.
}}
</poem>
|<poem lang|en>
There comes the shadowy
dragon flying,
glittering serpent, up
from Dark of the Moon Hills.
He carries in his pinions
—he flies over the field—
'''Malice Striker''', corpses.
Now will she sink.
</poem>
|<poem lang|en>
There comes the dim
dragon flying,
a gleaming adder, below
from the [[Niðafjöll]].
Carrying in between the feathers
—flying the land over—
'''Nidhogg''' corpses does—
now may she sink.
</poem>
|}

The context and meaning of this stanza are disputed. The most prevalent opinion is that the arrival of Níðhǫggr heralds [[Ragnarök]] and thus that the poem ends on a tone of ominous warning. It could be, however, as the prevalent themes of Norse mythology are those of change and renewal, that this could be a 'redemption' of the serpent, 'shedding' the corpses and beginning life anew, much like a macabre Phoenix, or perhaps, lifting the bodies of the righteous rulers mentioned two stanzas before (the stanza immediately before is considered spurious by translator Henry Adam Bellows), so that they can dwell in Gimle, and then either Níðhǫggr sinks, or the völva sinks, depending on the translation, and the poem ends.

Níðhǫggr is not mentioned elsewhere in any ancient source.

==Comparisons to Celtic culture==
At least one Irish story, that of Conneda, tells of a man journeying into the otherworld and having to work his way past several giant snakes with names of different sins and transgressions.<ref> The Story of Conn-eda, or The Golden Apples of Loch Erne; O'Kearney, Nicholas (1855); Cambrian Journal, Vol. II </ref> This would imply snakes consume, torment or punish the bad souls in Celtic culture. Similarly, Nidhogg is seen as the parent of all the snakes of the Norse underworld realm of Náströnd, separated from the rest of Helheim by the river Gjallar, which is made up of their acidic poison. This is where souls that are denied crossing on the [[Gjallarbrú]] wind up and where Loki is eventually imprisoned.<ref> Brodeur, Arthur Gilchrist (transl.) (1916). The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson. New York </ref> This is probably a reasonable explanation for his name.{{third-party-inline|date=April 2025}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Works cited===
* [[Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur|Brodeur, Arthur Gilchrist]] (trans.) (1916). ''The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson''. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation. Available at [https://books.google.com/books?id=_T1cAAAAMAAJ Google Books].
*Faulkes, Anthony (transl. and ed.) (1987). ''Edda'' (Snorri Sturluson). [[Everyman's Library|Everyman]]. {{ISBN|0-460-87616-3}}.

==Further reading==
* Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989). ''Íslensk orðsifjabók''. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
* [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Bellows, Henry Adams]] (trans.) (1923) ''The Poetic Edda''. New York: [[The American-Scandinavian Foundation]]. Available online in [http://www.voluspa.org/poeticedda.htm www.voluspa (org)].
* [[Ursula Dronke|Dronke, Ursula]] (1997). ''The Poetic Edda : Volume II : Mythological Poems''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. In particular p.&nbsp;18 and pp.&nbsp;124–25.
* Eysteinn Björnsson (ed.). ''Snorra-Edda: Formáli & Gylfaginning : Textar fjögurra meginhandrita''. 2005. Available [https://web.archive.org/web/20080611212105/http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/gg/ online].
* Eysteinn Björnsson (ed.). ''Völuspá''. Available [https://web.archive.org/web/20090413124631/http://www3.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/vsp3.html online].
* [[Finnur Jónsson]] (1913). ''Goðafræði Norðmanna og Íslendinga eftir heimildum''. Reykjavík: Hið íslenska bókmentafjelag.
* Finnur Jónsson (1931). ''Lexicon Poeticum''. København: S. L. Møllers Bogtrykkeri.
* [[John Lindow|Lindow, John]] (2001). ''Handbook of Norse mythology''. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio. {{ISBN|1-57607-217-7}}.
* [[Benjamin Thorpe|Thorpe, Benjamin]] (tr.) (1866). ''Edda Sæmundar Hinns Froða: The Edda Of Sæmund The Learned''. (2 vols.) London: Trübner & Co. Available online in the [[Norroena Society]] edition at [https://books.google.com/books?id=JcYLAAAAIAAJ&dq=Benjamin+Thorpe,+Edda&pg=PP1 Google Books].

==External links==
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{{Yggdrasill}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nidhoggr}}
[[Category:Creatures in Norse mythology]]
[[Category:Germanic dragons]]
[[Category:Legendary serpents]]
[[Category:Yggdrasil]]