Nidhogg: The Dragon Exclusive to Norse Mythology

     Nidhogg is a Dragon exclusive to Norse Mythology. This dragon arises from the world tree and is extremely powerful, as well as being mentioned in the Poetic Edda.

Nidhogg in Norse Mythology:

     Nidhogg, in Norse Mythology, is a Dragon that gnaws at a root from the world tree, Yggdrasil. In historical Viking society, "ní" was a term for a social stigma that implied loss of honor and villainous status. Thus, his name may refer to his role as a horrible monster in his action of chewing the corpses of the inhabitants of Náströnd: those guilty of murder, rape and oath-breaking, which Nordic society considered among the worst possible.

Prose Edda:

     According to the Gylfaginning part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, Níðhǫggr (Nidhogg) is a being that gnaws at one of the three roots of Yggdrasill. Sometimes it is believed that the roots are holding the beast of the world. This root is placed over Niflheimr and Níðhǫggr gnaws at it from below. The same source also says that "The squirrel named Ratatoskr runs up and down along the Ash Tree, carrying envious words between the eagle and Nídhǫggr [the dragon]".

     In the Skáldskaparmál section of the Prose Edda, Snorri specifies Níðhǫggr as a serpent in a list of names for such creatures: These are names for serpents: dragon, Fafnir, Jormungand, Nidhogg, Goin, Moin, Grafvitnir, Grabak, Ofnir, Svafnir. Snorri's knowledge of Níðhǫggr appears to come from two of the Eddic poems: Grímnismál and Völuspá. Later, in Skáldskaparmál, Snorri includes Níðhǫggr in a list of various terms and names for swords.

Excerpt from the Poetic Edda:

"Sal sá hon standa

sun far

Near the beach,

North view door.

Fellu ethroproparna Luz,

He's a wounded hall

Worm crests.

she saw wading there

heavy chains

men answer

Mok morðvargae the other swallows

Ear canal.

Niðhöggr sucked later success,

Sleit vargr vera-is still known, or what?"

Modern culture:

• Nidhogg appears in games such as Fate of the Norns, Tower of Saviors, Age of Mythology, Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XIV, Megami Tensei, World of Warcraft, Ragnarok Online, and the 2014 indie fencing game Nidhogg, as well as its sequel. 2017, Nidhogg 2.
• Niðhöggr appears in the light novel High School DxD by Ichiei Ishibumi as a legendary Evil Dragon from Norse mythology.
• Another reference, albeit a small one, is the 50% form of Zygarde, a serpentine-style Pokémon known as the Order Pokémon. This goes along with Xerneas, the Life Pokémon, being the Life Deer, Dvalinn, and Yveltal, the Destruction Pokémon, being Hraesvelgr.
• Nidhogg is the subject of the song "On a Sea of ​​Blood" from the album Jomsviking by Swedish melodic death metal band Amon Amarth.
• In Eve Online, a class of capital ships, the carrier Minmatar, is called the Nidhoggur. The Minmatar Republic in the game often uses Norse mythology in ship class names such as Loki, Hel, and Ragnarok.
• Although not in the game, Nidhogg is shown as a comparison to Alduin, the main antagonist of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, in the sense that they both feed on the dead and are the symbols of destruction. In Alduin's case, he feeds on the souls of the dead in Sovngarde, the afterlife of Skyrim's natives, and is prophesied to bring about the end of the world, earning the title World-Eater which could be a reference to Nidhogg gnawing at the roots. from Yggdrasil.

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