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Yggdrasil, also called the world tree, is at the centre of the Norse cosmos. All of the Nine Worlds arrayed around it are are connected to its roots; the continuation of the universe thus depends on the health of the tree. Yggdrasil is described as being a mammoth plant, so much so that the tops of its branches are capped with snow. Countless animals live around it, and if one is lucky enough one may perhaps spot a certain sprightly squirrel running up and down its trunk - Ratatoskr.
Ratatoskr and Yggdrasil
The busy Ratatoskr is mentioned in the Poetic Edda poem Grímnismál (a Scandinavian poem from the late Middle Ages):
Rat-Tusk is the squirrel who shall run up
Yggdrasil the ash tree,
Bearing with him the words of the eagle
Down to Nidhögg beneath.
Ratatoskr is thus tasked with being a messenger; he carries communications between Nidhogg (the serpent coiled around the roots of the tree) and an eagle (which is perched in the upper branches). The small creature isn't satisfied with just carrying out this task though, because its mind could turn to mischief as well. The eagle represents order and wisdom whereas the serpent below is symbolic of chaos and death, and the squirrel is the go-between, even though it uses its power to sow discord when it spreads gossip. This particular detail is mentioned in Gylfaginning, written by Snorri Sturluson:
"An eagle sits in the limbs of the Ash, and he has understanding of many a thing; and between his eyes sits the hawk that is called Vedrfölnir. The squirrel called Ratatöskr runs up and down the length of the Ash, bearing envious words between the eagle and Nídhöggr; and four harts run in the limbs of the Ash and bite the leaves."
While all of this occurs, Yggdrasil, the personification of life force, is being gnawed at by the various animals around it, but the rodent messenger seems to want to hasten this process of destruction by inflaming conflict between opposing parties. Some accounts state that Ratatoskr informs Nidhogg that the eagle had insulted him, which angers the serpent to such a degree that it starts to gnaw on the roots of the world tree. The squirrel then runs up to the great bird in the top branches and tells him that the reptile below wants to do him harm, that Nidhogg wants to destabilize the tree, so that the eagle would fall to his death. This, in turn, angers the eagle and it starts to break branches off and pelts Nidhogg below. In this way Ratatoskr ensured that Yggdrasil, the tree of life, is being destroyed at both ends.
The inspiration for Ratatoskr may have come from the Scandinavians' natural environment: European tree squirrels often give alarm calls from atop their arboreal homes, and this chatter could have seemed like gossip to imaginative storytellers. On a deeper level, the serpent could represent the id and the eagle the super-ego, and Ratatoskr represents intelligence that is the (sometimes wicked) mediator between the two. The image of Yggdrasil being nibbled and destroyed by various forces was also a vivid metaphor for the mortality of the cosmos; that one should enjoy every moment while it was still possible.
Thank You For Reading!
Yggdrasil, also called the world tree, is at the centre of the Norse cosmos. All of the Nine Worlds arrayed around it are are connected to its roots; the continuation of the universe thus depends on the health of the tree. Yggdrasil is described as being a mammoth plant, so much so that the tops of its branches are capped with snow. Countless animals live around it, and if one is lucky enough one may perhaps spot a certain sprightly squirrel running up and down its trunk - Ratatoskr.
Ratatoskr and Yggdrasil
The busy Ratatoskr is mentioned in the Poetic Edda poem Grímnismál (a Scandinavian poem from the late Middle Ages):
Rat-Tusk is the squirrel who shall run up
Yggdrasil the ash tree,
Bearing with him the words of the eagle
Down to Nidhögg beneath.
 |
| Ratatoskr, as depicted in a 17th century Icelandic manuscript. |
Ratatoskr is thus tasked with being a messenger; he carries communications between Nidhogg (the serpent coiled around the roots of the tree) and an eagle (which is perched in the upper branches). The small creature isn't satisfied with just carrying out this task though, because its mind could turn to mischief as well. The eagle represents order and wisdom whereas the serpent below is symbolic of chaos and death, and the squirrel is the go-between, even though it uses its power to sow discord when it spreads gossip. This particular detail is mentioned in Gylfaginning, written by Snorri Sturluson:
"An eagle sits in the limbs of the Ash, and he has understanding of many a thing; and between his eyes sits the hawk that is called Vedrfölnir. The squirrel called Ratatöskr runs up and down the length of the Ash, bearing envious words between the eagle and Nídhöggr; and four harts run in the limbs of the Ash and bite the leaves."
 |
| "The Ash Yggdrasil" by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine. |
While all of this occurs, Yggdrasil, the personification of life force, is being gnawed at by the various animals around it, but the rodent messenger seems to want to hasten this process of destruction by inflaming conflict between opposing parties. Some accounts state that Ratatoskr informs Nidhogg that the eagle had insulted him, which angers the serpent to such a degree that it starts to gnaw on the roots of the world tree. The squirrel then runs up to the great bird in the top branches and tells him that the reptile below wants to do him harm, that Nidhogg wants to destabilize the tree, so that the eagle would fall to his death. This, in turn, angers the eagle and it starts to break branches off and pelts Nidhogg below. In this way Ratatoskr ensured that Yggdrasil, the tree of life, is being destroyed at both ends.
 |
| European Red Squirrel photographed by Jarle Nystuen. |
The inspiration for Ratatoskr may have come from the Scandinavians' natural environment: European tree squirrels often give alarm calls from atop their arboreal homes, and this chatter could have seemed like gossip to imaginative storytellers. On a deeper level, the serpent could represent the id and the eagle the super-ego, and Ratatoskr represents intelligence that is the (sometimes wicked) mediator between the two. The image of Yggdrasil being nibbled and destroyed by various forces was also a vivid metaphor for the mortality of the cosmos; that one should enjoy every moment while it was still possible.
Thank You For Reading!
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