Upon completion of their daily rounds, so to speak, Hugin and Munin would fly back to Odin in Asgard. To carry out their daily tasks, the ravens must have had very good memory power as well as brilliant eyesight. They could process gazillion things at neck breaking speeds as well. The trusted companions of Odin, who by the way have tremendous speed and aerial ability, would go into the world and begin their mission of gathering information. After that he would release them into the world. It’s said that Odin would wake before the day even broke and he would whisper a set of instructions into the ears of Hugin and Munin. Hugin and Munin’s daily flights around the worlds There is also the eight-legged powerful stead known as Sleipnir, whose powers and abilities were unmatched by any horse in the Nine Realms. Joining Hugin and Munin in Odin’s circle of trusted companions are two vicious wolves – Geri and Freki – who stood always by Odin’s side. They were basically seen as Odin’s helping spirits Hugin and Munin – the two ravens that are considered Odin’s most trusted animal companions. With the ability to identify danger, Hugin and Munin might have saved Odin’s life countless number of times. They could spot things miles away and relay that information to Odin. Their aerial ability was immensely useful. What it means is that wherever Odin went the ravens followed him. In most accounts, the ravens are said to perch on both sides of Odin’s shoulders. It must be noted that Munin and Hugin were not just agents or spies of Odin, but they were part of his circle of trusted companions. This point reinforces Odin’s key feature of being an all-seeing god, as some accounts describe him. Since Odin had such a close bond with those ravens, it is not unfathomable to think that Odin, seated in his throne room in Valhalla, Asgard, could see and hear in real time the things that the birds saw and heard as they flew over the world. The ravens were important sources of up-to-date and real time information. This is where Hugin and Munin’s daily flights come in. He was always eager to peer into deepest regions of the cosmos and get to know things taking place in worlds beyond his. However, he was never content with the vast knowledge he had. In Norse mythology, Odin is described as a god who is close to being all-knowing and all-seeing. Read More: How Odin lost one of his eyes in the pursuit of knowledge Odin’s way of staying abreast of the issues taking place in Midgard Odin would then use the information received to develop war strategies against creatures and beasts that sought out to do serious harm on Asgard, the home of the Norse gods. These ravens would report to Odin whatever they saw and heard in those realms. In some regard, Hugin and Munin more or less acted like spies for the all father god. Therefore, having creatures like Hugin and Munin came in very handy, as Odin would send those birds out every day to gather information across the Nine Realms. Take the examples of Odin and Heimdallr – two gods who sacrificed a part of their bodies to drink from Mimir’s well of wisdom. Therefore, boosting one’s stockpile of knowledge seemed like a reasonably logical thing to do in order to avert the impeding doom (i.e. The gods in Norse mythology have this constant fear of the events of a bleak future, a future where many of the gods are doomed to perish.
Time and time again, we see many characters in the pantheon going to great lengths to enhance their wisdom and knowledge. Similar to the world we have today that thrives on information and knowledge, the Norse world also valued knowledge. We begin by exploring the importance of Hugin and Munin in Norse mythology.
A plate from a Vendel era helmet featuring a figure riding a horse, holding a spear and shield, and confronted by a serpent.
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