Huginn and Muninn

But now Odin, searching through his wisdom, saw a means to get knowledge of where Iduna was hidden.

He summoned his two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, his two ravens that flew through the earth and through the realm of the giants, and that knew all things that were past and all things that were to come.

He summoned Huginn and Muninn, and they came.

And one sat on his right shoulder, and one sat on his left shoulder, and they told him deep secrets.

They told him of Thiasi and of his desire for the shining apples that the dwellers in Asgard ate, and of Loki's deception of Iduna, the fair and simple.

And Odin, looking at Frigga, saw that a fear had entered her breast.

He left the peace stead and went to his watchtower, Hlidskjalf.

He waited there till Huginn and Muninn should come to him.

But on wine only the famed-in-arms Odin ever lives.

Hugin and Munin fly each day over the spacious earth.

I fear for Hugin that he come not back, yet more anxious am I for Munin.

Thund roars.

Wine is for him both meat and drink.

Two ravens sit on Odin's shoulders and whisper in his ear the tidings and events they have heard and witnessed.

They are called Hugin and Munin.

He sends them out at dawn of day to fly over the whole world, and they return at eve towards mealtime.

But now Odin, searching through his wisdom, saw a means to get knowledge of where Iduna was hidden.

He summoned his two ravens, Hugin and Munin, his two ravens that flew through the earth and through the realm of the giants and that knew all things that were past and all things that were to come.

He summoned Hugin and Munin, and they came.

And one sat on his right shoulder, and one sat on his left shoulder, and they told him deep secrets.

They told him of Thjasi and of his desire for the shining apples that the dwellers in Asgard ate, and of Loki's deception of Iduna, the fair and simple.

But Hnossa was too young to hear the music that was made by the swans of Urda's Well.

Chapter 9 The All-Father's Forebodings How He Leaves Asgard Two ravens had Odin All-Father.

Hugin and Munin were their names.

Blast that squirrel and its meddling.

Huginn, Muninn, go and talk with Ratatoska.

Odin's ravens, Huginn, meaning thought, and Muninn, memory, left the halls of Asgard and flew, swift as demons, up into the branches of Yggdrasil.

They waited for the little squirrel to come zipping by, then screeched.

Radatoska!

But on wine only the famed-in-arms, Odin, ever lives.

Hugin and Munin fly each day over the spacious earth.

I fear for Hugin, that he come not back, yet more anxious am I for Munin.

Thund roars, joyful in Thjotvidnir's waters lives the fish.

End of section 69 Recording by phone Section 70 of the Elder Eddas of Szymon Sykweson and the Younger Eddas of Snorri Sturluson This is a LibriVox recording.

All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.

For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by phone The Elder Eddas of Szymon Sykweson and the Younger Eddas of Snorri Sturluson by Szymon Sykweson Translated by Rasmus B. Andersen Of the joys of Valhalla If it be as thou hast told me said Gangler that all men who have fallen in fight since the beginning of the world are gone to Odin in Valhalla what has he to give them to eat for methinks there must be a great crowd there What thou sayest is quite true replied Har The crowd there is indeed great but great though it be it will still increase and it will be thought too little when the wolf cometh But however great the band of men in Valhalla may be the flesh of the boar Særimnir will more than suffice for their sustenance For although this boar is sodden every morning he becomes whole again every night But there are a few methinks who are wise enough to give thee in this respect a satisfactory answer to thy question The cook is called Andhrímnir and the kettle Eldhrímnir As it is said Andhrímnir cooks in Eldhrímnir Særimnir Tis the best of flesh though few know how much is required for the Einherjar But has Odin said Gangler the same food as the heroes Odin replied Har gives the meat that is set before him to two wolves called Geri and Freki for he himself stands in no need of food Wine is for him both meat and drink Two ravens sit on Odin's shoulders and whisper in his ear the tidings and events they have heard and witnessed They are called Hugin and Munin He sends them out at dawn of day to fly over the whole world and they return at eve towards meal-time Hence it is that Odin knows so many things and is called the raven's god As it is said Hugin and Munin each dawn take their flight Earth fields over I fear me for Hugin lest he come not back but much more for Munin What have the heroes to drink said Gangler in sufficient quantity to correspond to their plentiful supply of meat Do they only drink water A very silly question is that replied Har Dost thou imagine that All-father would invite kings and jarls and other great men and give them nothing to drink but water In that case methinks many of those who had endured the greatest hardships and received deadly wounds in order to obtain access to Valhalla would find that they had paid too great a price for their water-drink and would indeed have reason to complain were they there to meet with no better entertainment But thou wilt see that the case is quite otherwise For the she-goat named Heidrun stands above Valhalla and feeds on the leaves of a very famous tree called Lærað and from her teats flows mead in such great abundance that every day a stoup large enough to hold more than would suffice for all the heroes is filled with it Verily, said Gangler, a mighty useful goatess this, and methinks the tree she feeds on must have very singular virtues.

Still more wonderful, replied Har, is what is told of the stag Eikthyrnir.

But now Odin, searching through his wisdom, saw a means to get knowledge of where Iduna was hidden.

He summoned his two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, his two ravens that flew through the earth and through the realm of the giants and that knew all things that were past and all things that were to come.

He summoned Huginn and Muninn, and they came.

And one sat on his right shoulder, and one sat on his left shoulder, and they told him deep secrets.

They told him of Thiassi and of his desire for the shining apples that the dwellers in Asgard ate, and of Loki's deception of Iduna, the fair and simple.

But now Odin, searching through his wisdom, saw a means to get knowledge of where Iduna was hidden.

He summoned his two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, his two ravens that flew through the earth and through the realm of the giants, and that knew all things that were past and all things that were to come.

He summoned Huginn and Muninn, and they came.

And one sat on his right shoulder, and one sat on his left shoulder, and they told him deep secrets.

They told him of Thiasi and of his desire for the shining apples that the dwellers in Asgard ate, and of Loki's deception of Iduna, the fair and simple.

You cannot separate Iceland from Norse mythology.

Odin had two ravens, Huginn representing thought and Muninn representing memory, who acted as his scouts across the world.

And that mythological reverence translated directly into historical navigation.

The Viking explorer Rafna Floki, which translates to Raven Floki, is deeply embedded in the sagas for using three ravens to navigate the open ocean and find Iceland.

But now Odin, searching through his wisdom, saw a means to get knowledge of where Iduna was hidden.

He summoned his two ravens, Hugin and Munin, his two ravens that flew through the earth and through the realm of the giants, and that knew all things that were past and all things that were to come.

He summoned Hugin and Munin, and they came.

And one sat on his right shoulder, and one sat on his left shoulder, and they told him deep secrets.

They told him of Thjazi and of his desire for the shining apples that the dwellers in Asgard ate, and of Loki's deception of Iduna, the fair and simple.

But Hnossa was too young to hear the music that was made by the swans of Urda's Well.

Chapter 9 The All-Father's Forebodings How He Leaves Asgard Two ravens had Odin All-Father.

Hugin and Munin were their names.