Sal sá hon standa sólu fjarri Náströndu á, norðr horfa dyrr. The first instance is in its description of Náströnd. The poem Völuspá mentions Níðhöggr twice. Snorri Sturluson often quotes Grímnismál and clearly used it as his source for this information. The poem identifies Níðhöggr as tearing at the tree from beneath and also mentions Ratatoskr as carrying messages between Níðhöggr and the eagle who lives at the top of the tree. The tree suffers great hardship from all the creatures which live on it. The poem Grímnismál identifies a number of beings which live in Yggdrasill. Later in Skáldskaparmál Snorri includes Níðhöggr in a list of various terms and names for swords. Snorri's knowledge of Níðhöggr seems to come from two of the Eddic poems: Grímnismál and Völuspá. "These are names for serpents: dragon, Fafnir, Iormungand, adder, Nidhogg, snake, viper, Goin, Moin, Grafvitnir, Grabak, Ofnir, Svafnir, masked one." (Faulkes translation, p.137) In the Skáldskaparmál section of the Prose Edda Snorri specifies Níðhöggr as a serpent in a list of names of such creatures: The same source also says that "he squirrel called Ratatöskr runs up and down the length of the Ash, bearing envious words between the eagle and Nídhöggr" ( Gylfaginning XVI, Brodeur's translation.). This root is placed over Niflheimr and Níðhöggr gnaws it from beneath. Sources have suggested that Nidhogg's continued presence in the new world is to provide an evil balance to the new good.Īccording to the Gylfaginning part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, Níðhöggr is a being which gnaws one of the three roots of Yggdrasill. The dragon however survives to continue its existence in the new order that follows. Nidhogg rises at Ragnarok, bringing up the corpses of the dead to join battle. In the act of gnawing the root, Nidhogg joins the four stags Dainn, Dvalinn, Duneyr and Durathor who graze the leaves and bark of Yggdrasill higher up. Ratatosk in turn brings the eagles taunts back to Nidhogg. When not feeding upon the dead Nidhogg gnaws at the root of Yggdrasill and sends taunting messages to the eagle perched in its high branches via the squirrel Ratatosk. Living by the root of Yggdrasill,, Nidhogg feeds on the bodies of the dead at Hvergelmirin, a spring which is the source of the rivers of the world, located in the region of Niflheim or Hela. Some scholars prefer the reading Niðhöggr ( Striker in the Dark). In particular the length of the first vowel is not determined in the original sources. While the suffix of the name, -höggr, clearly means "striker" the prefix is not as clear. The Danish form Nidhug or "Nidhøg" can also be encountered. The Modern Icelandic forms Níðhöggur and Niðhöggur are also sometimes seen and sometimes Anglicized as Nidhoggur. The name can be represented in English texts as Nidhogg, Nidhoggr, Nithhogg, Nidhögg, Nidhöggr, Nithhöggr, Nídhöggr, Nithhoggr, Nidhhogg, Níðhögg, Niðhoggr, Níðhoggr, Nídhögg, Hidhaegg, or Nidhhoggr. In the standardized Old Norse orthography the name is spelled Níðhǫggr or Niðhǫggr but the letter 'ǫ' is frequently replaced with the Modern Icelandic 'ö' for reasons of familiarity or technical expediency.