![]() ![]() He is also the inspiration for Alduin in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Nidhogg lends his name to a lot of video games, including World of Warcraft, Ragnarok Online, Age of Mythology, and Final Fantasy XIV. If you are a big gamer, chances are when you saw the word, 'Nidhogg', you probably pictured this: He will fly over the battlefield of the gods, carrying on his wings the bodies of men he has killed. There are four stags, at least seven other great serpents, an eagle who lives at the top, and even a squirrel named Ratatoskr.įrom the Völuspá via the Bellows' translation :īut Nidhogg has one other job: he will be the herald of Ragnarok. There are a number of pests that live in Yggdrasil, so Nidhogg is by no means lonely. If two poles were placed together, it suggested that the man or men accused of nīþ were also homosexual.īut let's get back to our cowardly serpent. In physical representations of nidings, they are often represented by a single pole called a nidstang or niding pole. If you did not engage in physical contact with the accuser, however, it was known that you were a coward. You could challenge them to take their words back or you would murder them. If people called you nīþ to your face (and it was expected if you were known to be a niding), you were required to fight them. ![]() Being called a nīðing (níðingr/ᚾᛁᚦᛁᚴᛦ in Old Norse, nīðing, nīðgæst in Old English, or nidding in Old Germanic). Modern Dutch and German even has similar sounds which imply hate, envy, or greed.Īnyway, anything having to do with nīþ implies unmanliness, cowardice, villianry. It implies that a person has suffered a great loss of honor and is, in fact, a villain. You see, nīþ means a social stigma in Norse and Germanic culture. Nīþ is the first syllable for the word Nidhogg, and it plays a very important role in Norse society. Like all creatures, gods, and mortals in Norse mythology, Nidhogg's name tells us exactly who he is. The second greatest is Fafnir, who fought the great hero, Sigmund.īut the third greatest (and relishing in his lowly position) would be Nidhogg (also called Níðhöggr). Perhaps the greatest is Jormungandr, the World Serpent. There are a lot of dragons in Norse mythology. ![]()
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